The ‘Year of Return’ as declared by the president seems to have done the country a great wealth of good. With the number of diasporans trooping into the country, it is no surprise that some embassies report the mounting of pressure on them for visas.
According to the Consulate General of Ghana in New York, USA, Professor Emeritus Samuel Amoako, pressure has mounted on his staff to meet the huge demand for visas to Ghana.
Speaking in an interview he said, “The Year of Return has put pressure on my staff. From January to September we had already processed about 15,000 visas and as of yesterday, we had 216 visa applications in a day. I won’t be surprised if by the end of the year we will have about 20,000 people visiting Ghana.”
He further went on to explain the fact that, “Ghanaians who have naturalized in America who hold American passports, and also Americans and other nationals who would want to visit Ghana all need visas to visit the country.”
Many people have been left to wonder how exactly the country stands to benefit from the influx of diasporans into the country. The Minister of Tourism, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi has claimed the entire program has brought in about $1.9 billion for the Ghanaian economy.
The president of the republic has also stated, there are plans to reveal a program that would take over the ‘Year of Return’ after it ends in 2019.
At the meet the press organised on December 13th, the president stated, “We ought not to make this (Year of Return) a one-off. It should be a permanent feature as part of our outreach both in terms of using it as a vehicle for solidifying the relations on both sides of the Atlantic.”
According to the president, the initiative to continue the Year of Return can also help boost the revenue of the Ministry of Tourism.
He further went on to add that, the relationship between the diasporans and Africans can be institutionalized through the ‘Beyond the Year of Return: The Birthright’ created by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Ghana Tourism Authority.
