U.S. Government Denies Simmering Diplomatic Row With Ghana

Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah of Joy FM Radio in Ghana covered the World Economic Forum for Africa in Tanzania during early May 2010.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos

Ghana Review International
News (Politics & National Development)
2010-05-12

US government denies simmering diplomatic row with Ghana

The US government has denied what has been suggested as a
simmering diplomatic row with Ghana following the refusal of
visas to key Ghana government officials.

Ato Ahwoi, Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC) and other key government officials were
refused visas to travel to the US for no specific reason,
sparking a huge diplomatic controversy.

The Enquirer Newspaper in its Wednesday, May 12, 2010
edition alleged that the refusal of the visas could be
linked to an ongoing controversy between Kosmos Oil, a US
oil company and the GNPC over the sale of oil shares by the
former.

Speaking to Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, host of Joy FM’s Super
Morning Show on Wednesday, the editor of the Newspaper,
Raymond Archer intimated that the Energy Minister had early
on in the year been denied a visa in spite of his diplomatic
passport.

But for the intervention of Ghana’s presidency, Dr Oteng
Adjei would not have been granted visas to the US to attend
to urgent official matters, he emphasized.

According to him an official from the US consular office had
made a comment to one of the officials who had been denied
the visa that officials of GNPC and the Energy Ministry were
anti-US.

The refusal was therefore a diplomatic tool to whip the
officials in line, he suggested.

But in a rebuttal, the Press Attache at the US Embassy in
Ghana, Ben East told Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah that the questions
of diplomatic row have no basis.

He would not however explain the reasons for the refusal of
the visa to Mr Ahwoi, except to say that Mr Ahwoi has been
“temporarily refused,” pending further review.

Ben East said further that it is unethical to comment on
individual refusals.

According to him, the US government has provided sponsorship
to 40 other officials both from the Energy Ministry and GNPC
for a training programme on the energy offshore technology
sector in the US.

That will not happen if there is a diplomatic row between
the two countries, he said.

Asked if everything is fine between the US and Ghanathe
press attaché said: “It looks that way to me.”