Ghana to appoint honorary consul in Jamaica

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has outlined plans to strengthen his country’s presence in Jamaica and the wider region as part of a broader effort to deepen African–Caribbean ties.

Ghana’s only mission with regional responsibility is its Embassy in Havana, Cuba, accredited non-resident to Trinidad and Tobago and several other Caribbean states. The arrangement has stretched consular services, prompting the decision to appoint an honorary consul in Jamaica.

“We have already identified the person, and that in the next few days a formal announcement will be made. He will be duly appointed … so that we can really deepen our cooperation, facilitate all the consular needs that we need to address, so that we can also liaise more effectively with our mission in Cuba,” he said. Additional honorary consuls will be named in The Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda within the first quarter of the year.

Addressing a capacity audience at the Courtleigh Auditorium in Kingston on Saturday, Ablakwa also said the Ghanaian government was intensifying its global campaign for reparations. He noted that President John Damani Mahama had signalled at the last United Nations General Assembly that Ghana would file a special resolution urging the UN to recognise the transatlantic trade in Africans as the greatest crime against humanity and to require reparations.

“I can confirm to you that since that announcement a lot of work has been done, working with experts, particularly from the Caribbean. I must commend our colleagues here, that I’m really impressed at the remarkable record-keeping … the quality of research, how authoritative they are. We have put together this draft resolution, working with Caricom, working with the Reparation Commission in the Caribbean, working with other experts at UNESCO,” he said.

UNITY OF PURPOSE

Ablakwa added that the resolution would be tabled at the upcoming African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. He called for unity of purpose: “We come to all of you to support this effort. We are pursuing this path because we owe it to all our ancestors, we owe it to our forebears. They did not get justice. We must fight for their justice for them.” Proceeds from reparations, he said, would be used to educate and empower future generations, ensuring African societies are never again placed in a position of vulnerability.

The minister also underscored Ghana’s intention to strengthen diplomatic engagement with the region. “As a ministry we have decided to forge very close ties with Caricom, and so we have decided that we will apply officially for Ghana to be affiliated to Caricom, and to designate an ambassador to Caricom …” He added that negotiations were under way with African airlines to establish direct air links to the Caribbean. “We cannot continue to go through Europe and the Americas,” he said.

He warned that genuine integration would remain elusive without improved connectivity. “That’s has to change, and we are determined to change that … All the integration we’re going to see, the reunification, the exchange that we want to see, if we do not address the barrier of transportation … we will not be moving the needle forward.”

Ablakwa, who led a visiting Ghanaian delegation earlier this week, also announced that Ghana would fully sponsor the erection of a monument at the Seville Heritage Park in St Ann to commemorate African solidarity and shared history. He said Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence would work with local authorities in Jamaica to advance the project.

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