...on Appointment of Honorary Consul General for Montreal

The Montreal Network for Patriotism & Progress, (NPP Montreal-Canada) has petitioned the President, John Agyekum Kufour to rescind the decision of the Foreign Minister, Hackman Owusu Agyeman to appoint a White French-Canadian as the Honorary Consul General of Ghana in Montreal.

In the petition addressed to the President, the Chapter Chairman, Hans Peter Duah regretted that the Foreign Minister never consulted with the Montreal Ghanaian Community before deciding on the appointment of Mrs. Heller Normand whose husband was the previous Honorary Consul General for Ghana in Montreal.

Mr. Duah explained that “in line with the President’s call on expatriate Ghanaians to assist in the development of our homeland, we sought out very qualified Ghanaians in Montreal who could effectively discharge the duties of the Honorary Consul General. An application letter backed by hundreds of signatories from Ghanaian Community was submitted to the Foreign Minister and the then Ghana High Commissioner in Canada, Oliver Lawluvi”.

Duah regrets that neither the then High Commissioner, Oliver Lawluvi nor the Ghana Foreign Minister Owusu Agyeman accorded the Ghanaian Community in Montreal the courtesy of a response. The NPP North American Executive Committee raised this issue with the President and the Foreign Minister during his visit to Canada in November 2001. The Foreign Minister’s reasons for appointing the French-Canadian was that her husband, who was the previous Consul General is now an advisor to the Canadian Government and appointing his wife guarantees the Ghana government an ear with the Canadian government.

Duah maintains that this is a very feeble and untenable reason for ignoring the concerns and opinions of the Ghanaian Community in Montreal and goes against the calls from the Ghana government on overseas Ghanaians to assist in the development of Ghana.

“What is at stake here is that the government at home is disregarding the skills of its own citizens abroad. It is even more shocking that by appointing the wife of the former Honorary Consul General to the same position, a French Canadian dynasty, the Joachim Normand dynasty is being created out of the Ghana Consulate in Montreal. Who will be next after her? Her son?”

The local NPP Chairman therefore calls on the President and the Foreign Minister to revoke the appointment of Mrs. Heller Normand with immediate effect and consult with the local Ghanaian Community in Montreal who are better placed to recommend someone with the necessary skills and connections to handle the job of Honorary Consul General for this city.

The implication of this move in appointing a foreigner over the objections of the local Ghanaian community creates a lot of ill-feelings for the government at home and as local supporters of our governing Party in Ghana, we believe it is our duty to draw the attention of the President to this anomaly, Hans Peter Duah emphasized.

The local Ghanaian Community regards this move by the government as a vote of no-confidence in the capabilities of its own citizens abroad, the same constituency that the government is appealing to for cooperation and assistance in the national development effort.