
Gyakye Quayson pledges to support passage of Dual Citizenship Amendment Bill
The Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs designate, James Gyakye Quayson, has said he will support the speedy passage of the Dual Citizenship Amendment Bill into law when it comes before Parliament once again.
During his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament last Friday, Mr Quayson emphasised the importance of the amendment, citing his personal experience and the potential benefits it could bring to the country.
The Dual Citizenship Bill aims at amending the 1992 Constitution to allow dual citizens to hold certain public offices. Currently, the laws of the country restrict individuals with dual nationality from participating in politics and contributing to national development.
Mr Quayson, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, has been a key proponent of this Bill.
A similar Bill was tabled in the Eighth Parliament but it didn't pass before the House dissolved.
Mr Quayson stated that allowing dual citizenship could attract valuable resources, knowledge and experience from Ghanaians in the diaspora to contribute to the country's development.
He said it would also promote understanding and cooperation while Ghanaians in the diaspora brought their skills and expertise back to the country to contribute to its growth.
"This is very dear to me because of what I went through. And I can also share with the panel here that brothers and sisters in the diaspora have immense resources, knowledge, experience and the academic knowledge to bring here to help us build our nation," he said.
“I'm very convinced that my government will support it. I even believe the previous government was in support of that as well," he told the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
Ghana-US bilateral relations
Touching on Ghana-US bilateral relations, the Assin North MP said the two countries had a mutual understanding on a five-year visa policy for citizens travelling between them.
This agreement, he said, allowed American citizens visiting Ghana to obtain a five-year visa, with a reciprocal arrangement for Ghanaian citizens travelling to the US.
However, he said, the implementation of this agreement had been affected by changes in administration, particularly during the Trump presidency, which had led to a more nationalistic approach to immigration and visa policies.
In spite of these challenges, Mr Quayson said diplomacy could play a crucial role in resolving the issues to ensure that the reciprocal visa arrangement was upheld.
He emphasised the need for Ghana to intensify diplomatic efforts to ensure that the US adhered to the reciprocal visa agreement.
Refund of visa application
Mr Quayson expressed concern over the non-refundable nature of visa application fees paid to some foreign embassies in the country.
This administrative policy, he said, was unfair to Ghanaians, particularly when their visa applications were rejected, and advocated a streamlined policy that would ensure that applicants who were denied visa received a refund of their visa application fees.
LGBTQ+ Rights
Mr Quayson also expressed his personal views on LGBTQ+ rights, stating that he was not in favour of it due to cultural and religious reasons.
He mentioned that he was against the liberalisation of LGBTQ+ rights in Canada, and that Ghana should not support it for the sake of its own nation.
"As a true African, I am not in favour of LGBTQ. I was in Canada when the LGBTQ was liberalised and I was against it. I will never support LGBTQ because of cultural, religious reasons and for the sanity of our own nation," he said.
AI hub
The Deputy Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations designate, Mohammed Adam Sukparu, who is also the NDC MP for Sissala West, pledged to work with his sector minister to make Ghana the artificial intelligence (AI) hub in West Africa, improve rural telephony and the digital gap between the urban and rural areas of the country.
On the impersonation of public officials on social media, he said the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) was engaging major social media platforms to crack down on individuals involved in impersonating public officials online.
The growing trend of online impersonation, he said, posed a serious threat to public trust and national cybersecurity.
To address this issue, Mr Sukparu said the CSA would reach out to all public officials to submit their official social media accounts for verification, adding that the aim was to help the public distinguish between authentic and fake accounts, making it easier to identify and report scammers.
He assured the committee of his readiness to support his sector Minister to strengthen cybersecurity systems and ensure that such initiatives were effectively implemented across the country.