Ghanaian actor and New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, Prince David Osei, has publicly criticised Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the recent revision of the United States’ visa reciprocity arrangement with Ghana.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Osei described the development as a “diplomatic misstep” with serious consequences for ordinary Ghanaians.
The United States has reduced its visa offering for Ghanaian citizens from a five-year multiple-entry visa to a three-month single-entry visa. The move, Osei argued, is not just a bureaucratic shift but a major setback for students, businesspeople, tourists and families who depend on accessible travel to the U.S.
The diplomatic breakdown
Osei attributed the new U.S. visa policy to what he described as a mishandled exchange between Ghana’s Foreign Minister and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to him, instead of adopting a diplomatic and measured approach, the minister’s tone came off as “defensive and dismissive.”
He took particular issue with the minister’s comment that he “personally did not incur debt,” which Osei said missed the bigger picture. “The issue at hand is not about individual responsibility, but about the obligations of the Ghanaian government as a whole,” he wrote.
He cautioned that diplomacy requires “tact, humility, and strategic communication”, qualities he felt were lacking in the minister’s response. He warned that the fallout from such diplomatic failings now directly affects the lives of ordinary citizens, making the already difficult process of securing a U.S. visa even more cumbersome.
Contradictions in messaging
The actor also raised concerns about inconsistencies in the government’s communication. He pointed out that the Foreign Minister invoked the legacy of Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana’s independence while simultaneously calling for reparations from the colonial era.
