The Ghana Embassy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has appealed to Ghanaians living in Saudi Arabia without residency and work permits to take advantage of a package by the Embassy to repatriate them to Ghana.
Saudi Arabia, in March 2017, announced a 90-day amnesty for persons living in that country illegally who wished to return to their countries of origin as part of the Kingdom’s “A Nation Without Illegal Expatriates” campaign.
Although the amnesty will expire on June 25, 2017, it seems most Ghanaians in Saudi Arabia are bent on staying in the country.
“Since the beginning of the General Amnesty two months ago, the Ghana Embassy in Riyadh and the Ghana Consulate in Jeddah have processed more than five hundred emergency travel documents (Travelers Certificates) for Ghanaians who have violated their residency and work permits, enabling them to take advantage of the General Amnesty to leave the Kingdom,” a statement from the Embassy said.
According to the Embassy, it is “still processing these emergency travel documents for Ghanaians who wish to leave at a highly subsidized cost of SR50 (Saudi Riyals) instead of SR200” and that anyone who fails to take advantage of the package will have themselves to blame.
“Any Ghanaian illegal resident who fails to take advantage of this General Amnesty program should be ready to face any penalty or consequences thereof as a result of their actions or inactions. Both the Embassy and the Consulate should not be blamed for any unforeseen occurrences after the expiration of the General Amnesty program given that the Mission does not have any more resources to troubleshoot self-inflicted consular problems,” the statement signed by acting Head of Mission at the Embassy, Marcel Domayele added.
There have been several reported cases of abuses and maltreatment of Ghanaians who usually take up jobs as maids and nannies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Several female Ghanaians were rescued in Kuwait by the Ghanaian Embassy in 2015.
According to the Embassy, it is regrettable to note that both Ghanaian agents and their foreign counterparts mislead prospective Ghanaian workers by promising them non-existent juicy offers which turn out to be a hell for most of these workers.
“The Ghana Embassy is currently overwhelmed with cases of Ghanaian domestic workers (house maids) who have fallen victims of such unfortunate pranks and misrepresentation of these agents. And it is against this background that the Embassy in the strongest possible terms warns the youth of Ghana to desist from making any plans of traveling to the GCC states to work as unskilled workers. We urge the young people of Ghana to seek information from the Embassy about any shoddy contracts even before embarking on their travel to these countries,” the statement added.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
