Five of Ghana's high-profile citizens, including popular YouTuber Wode Maya and broadcaster Anita Erskine, will be receiving diplomatic passports from the state in the pursuit of the drive towards African integration and unity.
The initiative, which was announced by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, stated that their own works have been promoting African people's unity in the world, and hence the privilege to assist them in doing even more.
The move will see Wode Maya, Denta Amoateng, Rocky Dawuni, Anita Erskine, and artist Ibrahim Mahama having diplomatic passports issued to enable them to perform their work in advancing African unity in the world.
They have also been tasked with being ambassadors who will promote the 2025 Diaspora Summit, which is scheduled to take place in Ghana from December 17th to December 20th.
It is rare for diplomatic passports to be used for government workers, diplomats, and ambassadors traveling abroad on government business. They are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the name of the President and grant diplomatic privileges and, in some cases, visa waivers to their bearers.
The action is just weeks after the new National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, retrieved all diplomatic passports issued by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government under ex-President Nana Akufo-Addo.
The move, the Ministry explained, was to streamline and vet eligibility following concerns about issuing diplomatic passports to people outside official government or diplomatic service.
The government argues that through this issuance of new diplomatic passports to these five individuals, it intends to leverage their influence in entertainment, media, arts, and philanthropy to build African cohesion, cultural exchange, and integration across the continent.
