Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa accused a former ambassador of creating illegal financial deals. Hajia Alima Mahama signed a contract with Fred Kwarteng on January 1, 2023. Kwarteng worked as an IT officer at Ghana's embassy in Washington. The minister said this deal cost the government money. Officials dismissed Kwarteng from his job.
Ablakwa spoke to reporters Thursday in Accra about the contract problems. He said the agreement never ends and has no way to stop it. The minister called this arrangement against the law. Embassy workers first questioned Kwarteng about his actions in November 2019. Kwarteng claimed he was testing a new system.
The IT officer created a scheme that moved visa and passport money away from official channels. Ablakwa said 99 percent of all applications went through Kwarteng's unauthorized system. This happened since 2019 without embassy approval. The contract gave Kwarteng permanent control over important services. Embassy officials could not oversee his work.
The former ambassador has appeared on several radio shows recently. Ablakwa thinks she wants to avoid responsibility for the problems. He warned her not to change the facts about what happened. The minister said legal investigators will examine her actions. Officials want to recover any stolen government funds.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry works with lawyers to study the case. Investigators will determine how much money the scheme cost Ghana. They want to find all rule violations that occurred. The probe continues as officials gather more evidence.
Ablakwa spoke to reporters Thursday in Accra about the contract problems. He said the agreement never ends and has no way to stop it. The minister called this arrangement against the law. Embassy workers first questioned Kwarteng about his actions in November 2019. Kwarteng claimed he was testing a new system.
The IT officer created a scheme that moved visa and passport money away from official channels. Ablakwa said 99 percent of all applications went through Kwarteng's unauthorized system. This happened since 2019 without embassy approval. The contract gave Kwarteng permanent control over important services. Embassy officials could not oversee his work.
The former ambassador has appeared on several radio shows recently. Ablakwa thinks she wants to avoid responsibility for the problems. He warned her not to change the facts about what happened. The minister said legal investigators will examine her actions. Officials want to recover any stolen government funds.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry works with lawyers to study the case. Investigators will determine how much money the scheme cost Ghana. They want to find all rule violations that occurred. The probe continues as officials gather more evidence.
