Ghana@60: let’s end the maltreatment of Ghanaians in Ghana and abroad

By Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai

Ghana was declared free from colonial rule 60years ago and has been led by highly intelligent nationalists like Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, and Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo. Although we are respected worldwide for maintaining good democratic culture and having some well-educated and highly cultured citizens, we seem to have many foreign nationals looking down on us in Ghana and in some countries abroad. A few days ago a lady staff of a foreign owned Marwako Fast Food Restaurant in Ghana was manhandled on duty in a manner that defies understanding. Although the culprit known as Jihad Thaabn is now before court and has been suspended from duty by his employers many people are demanding for stiffer punishment for him. Many people are questioning how uncultured people who lack knowledge of our rules get to come and live in Ghana? While many Ghanaians are being maltreated daily in Mining areas, manufacturing Industries and commercial firms some other Ghanaian hustlers who managed to travel to Europe, Asia., South Africa are also faring badly in these foreign lands. A few days ago it was reported that some citizens in South Africa launched sporadic attacks on foreign nationals including Ghanaians who are found in gainful employments. This xenophobia attacks are going on at a time when in Ghana many foreign nationals including Chinese, men from South Africa have found themselves in gainful jobs in mining industries and retail trading. In Europe and Asian nations of Saudi Arabia many Ghanaians are stranded and praying to be repatriated home after going through difficulties in their employment as domestic servants and laborers. Many of these people blame Ghanaian embassies for neglecting them while the embassies also say those people do not declare their presence when they arrive in those nations such as Germany.

To find solution to the problem of lack of regard for Ghanaians we need to embark on the following;

• A committee must be set up to study the rules governing employment in the foreign owned companies as well in the small and medium level firms. The rules must conform to laid down rules. All those employees who fail to live to expectation must be sanctioned.

• With regard to the Ghanaians who are suffering in foreign lands, the government must set up a committee to travel out to foreign lands especially in affected countries to have a first-hand experience on what our nationals are going through. Those who are going through difficulties could be sent back home with the help of their families back home in Ghana.

• The committee could be made to also study the reasons and processes through which many Ghanaians travel through unapproved means to Europe Saudi Arabia and other nations abroad. It would be discovered that there are syndicates operating as travel agencies busily recruiting and trafficking young men and women including children to countries abroad. The fake travel agents are specialists in exploiting the weakness of the Ghanaian prospective travelers. They often narrate to them how easy to land gainful employments abroad detailing to them how much they are going to be paid,

• Our experience has shown that the good picture painted are not true. Instead most of the job seekers especially in Arab countries are often detained indoors and are subjected to ill treatment being made to work with very little rest. Their passports are often seized thereby leaving them with no room to report themselves to their embassies.

• The committee can be made to restructure the travel processes by Ghanaians seeking to travel for greener pastures abroad. All those wishing to travel to work outside should be made to register to go through orientation on what to expect in the countries of their choice. As they are going through training the committee may enter into agreement to send job seekers abroad.

• The agreement must spell put the job specifications and the salary and service conditions. This way the nation would get to know how many Ghanaians are leaving the nation and where they are going. This way the nation would be able to monitor the movement of travelers out of Ghana just as is happening in some Asian nations as Singapore, Malaysia and others

Executive Director

eanfoworld for sustainable development

Abdulai.alhasan@gmail.com/eanfoworld@yahoo.com

0244370345/0208844792/0274853710