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Emirates’ travel ban on Ghana is “discriminatory, offensive and senseless” – Okudzeto Ablakwa

<a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/news/local/i-cant-reveal-cost-of-akufo-addos-travels-by-private-jet-kan-dapaah-tells-parliament/r52rvbj">The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa</a> has urged African countries to reciprocate in good measure the travel ban imposed on Ghana and others on the continent by the Emirates.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Education, in charge of Tertiary Education
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Deputy Minister of Education, in charge of Tertiary Education

The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee made this call on his Facebook page on Tuesday, December 28.

He expressed serious reservations about the Covid-19-induced ban which took effect from Tuesday.

“Ghana, Angola, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire and Ethiopia do not have an active case count and hospitalization anywhere near that of France, UK, Italy, USA and India whose citizens are all allowed, rightly so if I may add, to still travel to and transit through Dubai. 

“The other nauseating irony is that daily active cases in the UAE have now crossed 1,800, far higher than Ghana's 1,264 new cases, and yet UAE citizens can travel to Ghana whereas Ghanaians cannot travel to the UAE,” the lawmaker bemoaned.

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According to the restriction notice, passengers from the aforementioned countries will not be allowed entry into Dubai until further notice.

But reacting to the notice, Mr Ablakwa described it as “high-level international racism” that African countries continue to suffer at the hands of developed countries.

“I urge African Presidents and the African Union to immediately denounce this shameless discriminatory policy and to proceed by giving UAE authorities an ultimatum to reverse this backward ban, failing which I strongly expect African countries to reciprocate in good measure, and in addition withdraw en masse from the ongoing Dubai Expo which closes on March 31, 2022. 

“I should hope President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana would also in protest reconsider his plans to lead a Ghanaian delegation to the Dubai Expo on March 8, 2022,” he proposed.

“African nations cannot continue to be soft targets in these dark schemes that perpetuate high-level international racism.”

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