If you are a Ghanaian with a genuine conference, genuine tournament, genuine holiday, and you walk into the US Embassy or Canadian High Commission today, you already know the look the visa officer gives you.
That look has a history. And on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the Minority in Parliament gave that history a new chapter.
At a press conference in Parliament, Ranking Member on Youth and Sports, Vincent Ekow Assafuah (Old Tafo MP), broke his silence on the visa scandal that has forced President John Dramani Mahama to suspend National Sports Authority Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah and dissolve the NSA Board.
But Assafuah said: Suspending one man does not end it.
“The dismissal of Yaw Ampofo Ankrah does not, by itself, resolve the issues before us. Accountability cannot and does not end with one individual,” he said.
According to documents the Minority says it has verified, the scandal is not one man. It is a system involving three state institutions and one private company:
– Ministry of Sports and Recreation
– National Sports Authority (NSA)
– Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA)
– TRIBE Culture Fest, a FIFA-licensed partner for fan experience
What The Investigation Found — And It Is Worse Than We Thought
This is not just about people traveling and not returning. This is alleged visa racketeering — using state letterheads to turn ordinary Ghanaians into fake officials to get visas, for money.
1. The 102 Ghost Staff:
The NSA wrote to the Canadian Embassy submitting 102 names as NSA personnel who needed visas for World Cup duties. The Minority says it cross-checked with NSA HR and payroll.
Only 15 were verified as NSA staff.
87 could not be verified. Some portfolios did not even exist.
Examples cited at the press conference:
– Comfort Ahiadome was presented as Board Secretary of NSA in a letter sent by Yaw Gyamfi Kusi Awere, Chief Operating Officer of NSA, to the US Embassy on January 28, 2026. But NSA had no Board Secretary at the time — the Legal Adviser was doubling as Board Secretary.
– Felicia Ahiadome was presented as Procurement Officer. She was not an NSA Procurement Officer.
– Fuseini Lukman was presented as Northern Region Coordinator. He was not.
– Others were presented as Chaplain, Event Coordinators, Volunteers — positions the Minority says do not exist in NSA organogram.
If you submit a non-staff as staff to an embassy, that is not administrative error. Under US law, that is misrepresentation.
2. The $8,000 – $9,000 Question:
The official agreement between NSA and TRIBE Culture Fest, according to documents shown by Minority, was US$3,000 per person for US visa processing, accommodation and logistics, and US$2,000 for Canada.
But Ghanaians who wanted to travel were allegedly charged *US$8,000 to US$9,000*, and in some cases up to US$14,000. Some even paid almost US$20,000 as part-payment.
Total pot: *About US$623,000* allegedly collected.
So where did the extra US$5,000 to US$6,000 per person go? Who received it? Which accounts? The Minority is asking for bank trails, MoMo trails, phone records.
3. The GTA Media List — The Most Embarrassing:
This one damages Ghana’s image as a media hub.
GTA CEO Maame Efua Houadjeto was allegedly allocated 400 visa slots by the US Embassy and 600 slots by the Canadian Embassy — 1,000 slots for World Cup-related travel.
She submitted 50 names to the US Embassy as media practitioners for accreditation.
The US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit checked.
Only 2 were verified as genuine media — Philip Narh and Andy Dosty of Multimedia Group.
48 could not be linked to any demonstrable professional media background.
So Ghana told America: these are our journalists. America checked and found they are not.
4. The Ministry’s Own Letter:
The Minority says the Ministry of Sports and Recreation itself wrote to the US Embassy seeking “visa facilitation consideration” for persons described as NSA volunteers and event coordinators — the same people whose staff status could not be verified.
That is why the Minority is calling for Sports Minister Kofi Adams to be dismissed and prosecuted alongside GTA boss Maame Efua Houadjeto. Not just NSA boss.
The Image of Ghana: Why This Is Not New
This is why the headline cannot just be “visa scandal.” The headline is: Ghana is becoming a country embassies do not trust.
Do you remember?
– 2018, Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Australia: Over 50 Ghanaians were detained and deported by Australian immigration for posing as journalists, athletes and officials. Two NSA staff, Christine Ashley and Husseini Akuetteh Addy, were found to have allegedly tampered with accreditation system to insert fake names. Today, 8 years later, those two officers are still at post.
– 2024, Bergen City Marathon, Norway: 11-member team of para-athletes from Ghana traveled to Norway. Upon arrival in Oslo on April 25, they absconded. One, head coach George Gyamfi Gyasi, collapsed and died in Oslo University Hospital on May 17. Only one, Nana Antwi, was apprehended. Nine remain at large in Schengen. National Security Minister had to write to Foreign Affairs that our “para-athletes” had vanished. National Paralympic Committee President Samson Deen said his signature was forged.
– 2026, World Cup, USA-Canada-Mexico: Before a ball is kicked, Canada denied a visa to Vice-Captain Thomas Partey for the opener against Panama, citing pending UK charges, while US had admitted him. Two allies, same man, opposite verdicts. And now this: 87 ghost NSA staff, 48 ghost journalists, $623,000 collected.
Every time we do this, we make the next honest Ghanaian’s visa harder.
When a genuine Ghanaian sprinter goes for a visa for World Athletics, the officer remembers 2018. When a genuine para-athlete goes, the officer remembers Norway 2024. When a genuine GTA staff goes for World Cup, the officer remembers 48 fake journalists.
We are not just selling visas. We are selling Ghana’s credibility.
The Critique: Why Do We Always Monetize Desperation?
Here is the proper investigation Ghana must do:
Ghana’s youth unemployment is 35%. A visa to the US is seen as a life lottery ticket. So a private company, TRIBE, is allowed to operate an office inside the Accra Sports Stadium, a state facility, with banners, collecting dollars from desperate people. Who authorized a private entity to operate from a national stadium to collect $8,000 per person? Who signed the MoU?
The NSA statement on Sept 15 said: “We categorically deny establishing, authorising or operating any office at the stadium for collection of money.” But Assafuah says he has photos of banners at the stadium. So who was lying? And if TRIBE was a FIFA-licensed partner only for fan experience viewing events, why was it handling visa facilitation letters on NSA letterhead?
This is the classic Ghanaian model: Create scarcity — World Cup slots are limited. Create a state gatekeeper — NSA, GTA, Ministry. Then privatize the gate — TRIBE collects. Then charge the poor.
And when it bursts, we sacrifice one man. Yaw Ampofo Ankrah steps aside. But the system remains.
As Assafuah said: “Dismissal is not prosecution. Removal from office is not accountability for criminal conduct.”
What Must Happen If Ghana’s Passport Must Recover
1. Publish the full list. The Minority says 102 names to Canada, 22 to US in one email, 50 media names. Government must publish all names, positions claimed, and verification status. Ghanaians deserve to know who was presented as Procurement Officer.
2. Forensic audit of $623,000. Not just how much was collected, but where it went. Bank accounts of NSA, GTA, TRIBE, and individual officials. Refund to those who paid and got no visa.
3. Prosecute, not just dismiss. If portfolios were fraudulently created to deceive a foreign embassy, that is forgery, deceit of public officer, and possibly defrauding by false pretences under Act 29. Not administrative sanction.
4. Blacklist private operators from state premises. No private visa facilitator should ever operate from Accra Sports Stadium or any ministry again.
5. Reform how embassies get lists. Every list to an embassy must be certified by Public Services Commission HR, not just a letter from a COO. And US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit must be thanked, not blamed like in 2024 when Sports Minister blamed Norwegian Embassy for issuing visas to fake para-athletes.
If we don’t, the next headline will be worse. In 2028, Los Angeles Olympics. In 2030, World Cup again. And the Ghanaian passport, already ranked low, will become a red flag that even genuine tourists, students and athletes will struggle to overcome.
We cannot keep shouting “Black Stars” on the field while we blacken the passport off the field.
The Minority has broken its silence. The Majority, the President, and the Police CID must now break the cycle.
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