President’s action on Australian visa fraud commendable – Inusah Fuseini

President Akufo-Addo’s decision to suspend two top officials including a deputy minister in the wake of the ‘fraudulent’ acquisition of Australian visas ought to be commended. That is according to Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Ranking Member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament.

It emerged that about 60 Ghanaians who travelled to Australia for the Commonwealth Games as journalists, athletes and officials were imposters and some have since been deported. The Ghana Olympic Committee has been accused of facilitating the acquisition of visas.

Deputy Sports Minister Pius Enam Hadzide and the acting Director General of the National Sports Authority, Robert Sarfo Mensah have subsequently been suspended following preliminary investigations conducted into the circumstances by the Criminal Investigation Department.

Pius Hadzide is the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Committee.

Minority Spokesperson on Communications, A.B.A. Fuseini on Friday told 3FM News the suspension of the Deputy Sports Minister is unconstitutional and cosmetic.

But commenting on the issue on TV3’s New Day, Saturday, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini believes the president took the right decision.

He wondered the kind of due diligence the deputy Sports Minister and the Olympics Committee did before recommending the people to the Australian High Commission for visa.

“And that is why we commend the president, but indeed we have to go further,” he said.

The MP noted that visa fraud has over the years been “eating our credibility”, and backed calls for the “embarrassment” caused by the latest visa racketeering to be seriously investigated.



“What the president has done is good, but it must not stop there, we want to know which people are behind this embarrassment. Huge embarrassment. How did they partake or participate in this scam and what motivated them to participate in this scam, we want to know.”,” the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central underscored.