Many a time, as Ghanaian custom demands, when a visitor comes to a place he or she is offered some water to drink and asked what brought him or her to that place. Due to the considerable number of problems facing Ghanaians in Italy today I will not even let you settle down and have a taste of the Italian “Parmiggiano Reggiano” cheese or the proverbial Italian coffee before writing to you. The fact that our Embassy in Rome is the least efficient in Western Europe cannot be over emphasised. This has compelled me to write to you to offer solutions which if implemented would go a long way to making a visit to our Embassy more bearable. The task ahead is a difficult one but not insurmountable.
1. A visit to the consular section every morning makes one sick. Many people travel from far and near seeking information concerning child insertion, passport renewal, visa application etc. All these problems have been aggravated by the fact that our mission in Rome is the only one in the Western Europe without a website. Most African embassies in Europe have a website where their national citizens can acquire information and download application forms before actually going there. How can the unprecedented tourist drive, which is so dear to the present Ghanaian Government succeed in attracting Italians without a site for the would be Italian tourist? I don’t think we need a loan to built a website. Thank God we have the talent ready to be tapped and what remains is for the Embassy to make the first move
2. A Ghanaian renewing his or her passport is required to name a guarantor who must confirm the applicant’s identity. I believe that the issuing of identification cards would have eliminated this useless procedure. Nevertheless we should not be shortsighted and lose sight of the fact that people who come to the embassy to renew passport rely on guarantors whom they have never even seen before. We should make it possible for the forms to be downloaded on the Internet and the cost of the forms added to the processing charges. In this way, people can come to the embassy with all parts the forms already filled in and false guarantors can be eliminated.
3. My work as a trade unionist and executive member of the local Ghanaian Association, which gives me the opportunity to come into contact with thousands of Ghanaians, has made me realise that Ghanaians in Italy are not as selfish as many believe. In the contrary, with honest and selfless leadership they can be mobilised to contribute their quota towards the resuscitation of the Ghanaian economy. The adage “ Once beaten, twice shy” is very clear here. Watching the satellite TV OBE, we saw how the ex-Ghanaian Ambassador to Great Britain, Mr. Osei Wusu, mobilised Ghanaians there to raise a huge amount of money (£5 each) for a project in Ghana. Such an initiative has never been launched in Italy so I hope that such a shining initiative will be emulated by Ghanaians in Italy under your administration.
4. You last served in Canada and hopefully saw the yearly show organised by the various Ghanaian communities in Chicago (USA). Our children here in Italy are losing touch with our rich cultural heritage, it is my hope that a Ghanaian culture day will be introduced and on a rotational basis. In March 2007 Ghana will celebrate its 50th independence anniversary in grand style. It is my fervent hope that this celebration will be organised not in Rome but in the northern part of Italy to allow many Ghanaians to participate.
5. The fact that one has to travel all the time to the consular office in Rome to renew passports cannot continue. It is my hope that as in the USA and Canada the system of mailing passports for renewal will also be introduced. Passport charges could then be paid by “vaglia postale” (money order) or bank draft into the embassy’s account.
If these proposals are taken into consideration and implemented, in four or five years’ time when your time is up and you return home, I hope to be alive to be able to thank you, in God’s name, for changing the life of many a Ghanaian in Italy. If you have already started your first Italian lessons then allow me to say “buon lavoro” and “benvenuto” to Italy and to your predecessor “more room for improvement” and it better late than never.
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