Atik Mohammed, General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC), has asked British High Commissioner Jon Benjamin to comport himself as a diplomat.
Speaking on his conduct since taking office, Atik Mohammed expressed disappointment in the British High Commissioner who he claims has undermined his office by making seemingly unnecessary remarks about happenings in the country.
Atik Mohammed was commenting on the recent news regarding some Members of Parliament who have been barred from entering the United Kingdom (UK) over suspicions of Visa racketeering.
The British government has blacklisted three current serving MPs and a former MP from making an entry into the UK.
A "confidential letter" the British High Commission in Ghana addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Mike Oquaye and sighted by Peacefmonline.com accused the MPs of "Visa fraud".
The MPs are said to have facilitated the entry of some of their relatives to the UK using their diplomatic passports and left them to live there illegally.
The letter cited Richard Acheampong, MP for Bia East in the Western Region, Joseph Benhazin Dahah, MP for Asutifi North in the Brong Ahafo region, Johnson Kwaku Adu, MP for Ahafo Ano South West, in the Ashanti Region and George Boakye, former MP for Asunafo South in the Brong Ahafo region.
"The British High Commission considers the actions outlined above to be completely unacceptable. In some cases, these behaviours may arguably be criminal in nature. As already outlined, administrative measures have been taken to ensure that the Honourable members mentioned here will most likely not be granted visas for the UK within the next 10 years. I should add that the Party affiliation of these MPs is, in this context, irrelevant to us: we simply state the facts as we have discovered them. We are continuing to investigate whether any other current or former MPs have engaged in similar behaviour and will inform you, if we discover any further such cases", the letter read.
Atik Mohammed, contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, wondered how a "confidential letter" could find its way into the public domain.
Suspecting Mr. Benjamin to have made the letter public, Atik Mohammed advised the British High Commissioner to stop bringing his office into disrepute.
"He's overdoing his job. He's gone beyond the space permissible by his work. As High Commissioner, there are some things he shouldn't engage in, but he does it. He wades into our local politics which he shouldn't do. When it comes to entertainment, he's there. On Spiritual matters, he's there. He's everywhere. It doesn't present you as a diplomat worth your name...Giving the past attitude and conduct of this man, I'm inclined to suspect that he knows something about it (leakage of letter). And it further undermines him as a diplomatic person representing a country like the UK," Atik stated.
He however called on the Speaker of Parliament and the entire House to address the scandals that have hit the legislative body in order to uphold the integrity of the House.
According to him, the scandals are becoming one too many, hence making the role of an MP disreputable.
"I don't feel excited or inspired to become a Member of Parliament. There's confusion about an understanding of what the role of an MP is", he added.
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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A president or former President of Ghana must ideally remain in Ghana and help with the governance of the country. By accepting the position in the English Masonic lodge Kufuor ceases to be a Ghanaian and must therefore lose all rights and privileges accorded former leaders of Ghana. In Ghana we believe that the African is capable of managing his own affairs but we acknowledge our collective deficiencies in knowledge. The Queen of England barred British judges from becoming freemasons because of favors being traded. If the Queen took that action then why should Kufuor still enjoy his right and privileges within Ghana and the African continent. Kufuor must lose access to all sensitive information regarding the government of Ghana and the African Union. With his position in the English freemasonry would our other development partners like USA, China, Denmark, France, AU states trust Ghana. We must act now. O
GHANA HAS NEVER WADED INTO BREXIT, QUEEN'S AFFAIRS BUT HERE WE ARE A ***barred word*** MAN WHO IS REPRESENTING HIMSELF AS THE EYES OF UK IN GHANA HERE IN A ***barred word*** AND ***barred word*** WAY. CAN WE SAY THIS IS HOW ALL IN UK ARE?
HE CHEAPENED HIMSELF WHEN HE ENTERED OBINIM'S FRAY. HE SAID OBINIM SHOULD TURN TO A SNAKE IN FRONT OF TV CAMERAS. THAT WAS HIGHLY UNDEPLOMATIC. HE SHOULD RESTRAIN HIMSELF.
NDC arrogance continues. Insults, insults and more insults even in opposition.
Do not blame the man Jon Benjamin, Ghanaian politicians are too quick to take undue advantage of some of the privileges available to them. If you use your political clout/documents to support another person's visa application it becomes your responsibility to make sure that that person complies with the conditions of the visa. if you state in the application that you will stay for one week you should simply do that because that statement influences the granting of the visa.
Point is, it tarnishes all Ghanaians if persons in high office abuse their office for the benefit of family members. The diplomat has a right to make the situation public regardless of the letter being confidential to stop others from following suit. Do not blame the diplomat here!
Hey Atik if it were to be only NDC members I know you would condemned but because they consist of Three of your bootlicking NPP MPs and only one former NDC MP so you've change your mind to defend. Shame on you
Taniii brain.No sense in this pepe
ATIK IN FACT UR NT QUALIFY TO BE IN ANY AIR WAVE AT ALL. DID U UNDERSTAND THE DIPLOMAT?
what a ***barred word*** thing to say. Atik, my goat has more brains than you.