The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has mounted intense pressure on the government, demanding the immediate resignation or dismissal of the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Hon. Kofi Iddie Adams, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mrs. Maame Efua Houadjeto, over an alleged massive visa fraud scheme tied to the World Cup.
Addressing the press on what he termed official records of a national disgrace, the Director of Communications, Miracles Aboagye, revealed that public officials allegedly conspired with a private firm, TRIBE Culture Fest, to fabricate official designations for individuals seeking US and Canadian visas.
According to him, official documents cited by the party disclosed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on 2nd June 2025 gave TRIBE Culture Fest exclusive access to National Sports Authority (NSA) facilities.
A supplementary arrangement on 19th January 2026 further committed the NSA to paying the company $3,000 per person for US visa processing and $2,000 for Canada for “NSA personnel,” regardless of whether the visas were granted.
The party disclosed that on 28th January 2026, the NSA’s Chief Operating Officer emailed the US Embassy introducing 22 purported NSA staff, including non-existent positions such as “Board Secretary” and bogus “Procurement Officers.” The Fraud Prevention Unit of the US Embassy flagged four of these applicants on 18th March 2026 and demanded proof of employment, only for the NSA to respond that same day with letters falsely confirming their appointments.
The scandal worsened on 8th June 2026 when the NSA Director-General submitted a list of 102 names to the Canadian Embassy following requests for truthful employment details.
Verification he claimed revealed that only 15 were actual NSA staff, while 87 were non-employees for whom portfolios such as “Chaplain” and “Head of Security” were allegedly invented.
“Applicants allegedly paid between $8,000 and $14,000 each, against the $3,000 contract rate, with one person making a part-payment of nearly $20,000,” the NPP stated, adding that media reports estimating total monies collected at over $600,000 have been confirmed by the Minister for Sports and Recreation.
The Communications Director noted that several individuals who travelled under these arrangements, including persons close to the NSA leadership and the Ministry, have absconded and failed to return to Ghana.
Reacting to the Ministry’s defence that forwarding the list was merely a technical review rather than an endorsement, the NPP argued that the Ministry’s 28th May letter titled “Request for Ministerial Support and Visa Facilitation Consideration” carried full diplomatic weight.
“In diplomatic practice, when a sovereign Ministry writes to a foreign Embassy requesting ‘ministerial support’ for named individuals, that is an endorsement. No Embassy reads a ministerial letterhead as a neutral courier slip,” the NPP insisted.
He described the Ministry’s claim that genuine staff were processed through a separate diplomatic channel as the most damaging admission of all, questioning why a Ministry of the Republic lent its name to a list of 90 people it now admits were not its officers.
In light of these revelations, the party is calling for the immediate departure of both Hon. Kofi Iddie Adams and Mrs. Maame Efua Houadjeto to ensure unhindered investigations. The party is also demanding that the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) be brought in alongside the CID to trace all funds collected from applicants.
Furthermore, the Miracles Aboagye called on Parliament to summon the Minister and the GTA CEO for a public inquiry, while urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief the nation on measures taken to safeguard the credibility of the Ghanaian passport before international missions.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
