H.E. Prof. Kwaku Danso-Boafo over the weekend met Ghanaians resident in Wales, at the St. Germans Church Hall in Cardiff. The meeting which was very interactive saw the High Commissioner and the Ghanaian community discussing various issues of mutual interest.



Welcoming the High Commissioner and his entourage, Mr. Kwaku Dua, interim chairman of the Association of Ghanaians living in Wales commended the High Commissioner for accepting their invitation to “share ideas on the nation”. He enumerated some of the issues which affected the Ghanaian community in Wales highlighting consular services and non-participation in national events. He appealed to the High Commissioner to extend “invitations to them to attend events hosted by the Mission in London.” Mr. Dua mentioned tribalism, land development challenges, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, disease and politics as some of the issues he would want the High Commissioner to touch on in his address.



In his address, the High Commissioner extended greetings from His Excellency Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, President of the Republic of Ghana and commended the Ghanaian community for putting together the event. He congratulated the leadership of the Association for their commitment to the cause of Ghana and expressed his delight to be part of the event since according to him, such interactions are always good opportunities to share thoughts and forge a common vision.



Prof. Danso-Boafo encouraged those who wanted to relocate to Ghana to take advantage of the services of the High Commission or the appropriate MDA directly related to their ambitions to go back home. He mentioned the Skills Data Bank which the Mission has set up as an effective project intended to capture the skills and qualifications of Ghanaian professionals living in the UK. Prof. Danso-Boafo said such a scheme would make it easy for government and the private sector to plug into to complement the skill needs in Ghana.



The High Commissioner emphasised that in addition to the day to day running of the Mission, the High Commission also has responsibility to work closely with other agencies such as the Commonwealth upon which Ghana currently sits as the Chair of its Ministerial Action Group as well as the Executive committee of the Commonwealth Foundation and the International Maritime Organisation. The High Commissioner reiterated that the Mission exists to represent all Ghanaians in the UK and in pursuit of this vision, visited Ghanaians in Glasgow, Coventry, Birmingham, Dublin, Manchester, Liverpool and Reading. He encouraged them to organise themselves into a formidable association with the assurance that not only will the “Ghana High Commission be happy to assist in its inauguration”, but the association will subsequently be invited to all functions in London. The High Commissioner emphasised that the High Commission was in the UK to serve and encouraged Ghanaians to feel free to seek service from the Mission rather than go through intermediaries.



He said in future it might even be possible to hold some of the national events in other cities of the United Kingdom. Responding to the concern of bringing consular services closer to their doorsteps, the HC said if the community could identify an individual who was willing to host an honorary consul, they could apply to the Mission for consideration.



Prof. Danso-Boafo encouraged them to avail themselves of the budget statement on the Ghana government website and submit any related statements through the High Commissioner or their Members of Parliament. He mentioned that the Constitutional Review Commission was due to visit the UK shortly to interact with Ghanaians. He encouraged them to take advantage of the exercise to share their views with the CRC.



The High Commissioner assured the community that “a lot of facilities have been introduced and modernized at the passport and visa section to improve on the quality of service offered to the public”. He was also glad to announce that the recently held Ghana Youth Day would be an annual event and urged them to participate in the event.



During question and answer time the Ghanaian community asked a wide range of questions including measures being adopted by government to mitigate rural-urban migration, and employments opportunities for the youth in Ghana. Mr. George Fynn the Head of Trade and Investment at the High Commission said the NBSSI continues to operate business advisory centres at the district and community levels to provide business advice to young, aspiring entrepreneurs. He also mentioned the Block farming scheme introduced by government and the national food buffer stock company as some of the initiatives to support youth development. He said the Small craft manufacturing sector was being supported by government to refine and increase the value of their products, citing the Enterprise Development and Investment Fund as doing a lot to support mango production in this endeavour. Mr. Fynn said government “is identifying the skills to drive the oil and gas industry” and the polytechnics were being oriented to provide middle level skills for the sector.



Responding to questions on visa fees and other consular services, Mr. Edward Cofie an officer at the section said officers at the Consular Section are sufficiently trained through customer relations workshops to handle customer services, a fact that is attested to by the positive feedback from the community. He said current visa fees “are some of the minimal if compared to other countries” and hinted that an automated service will soon be introduced, a facility which will enable express service for those who want it at minimal additional cost.



Mrs. Beatrice Vib-Sanziri, Police Liaison Officer at the Mission said although highway robbery continued to be a challenge, government was doing a lot to curb it. She said the police were making arrests and building its logistical capacity in the areas of communication equipment, patrol vehicles and community sensitization, stressing that the synergy of such an interface between the community and the police service results in effective policing.



The meeting which was interspersed with poetry recitals and music saw over 55 Ghanaians attending and interacting freely with the High Commissioner and his team.



Source: Information Section Ghana High Commission London