Member of Parliament for Old Tafo in the Ashanti Region, Vincent Ekow Assafuah has petitioned the presidency and two anti-corruption bodies to investigate alleged irregularities in visa facilitation arrangements and the allocation of opportunities linked to the country’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The opposition lawmaker had submitted separate petitions on Wednesday, 14 October to President John Dramani Mahama, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
The petitions concern arrangements involving the National Sports Authority (NSA), the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), the ministries of sports and tourism, the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) and private event organiser TRIBE Culture Fest.
According to the documents, the NSA and TRIBE Culture Fest signed a memorandum of understanding on June 2, 2025, followed by supplementary arrangements dated January 19, 2026, which reportedly set charges of $3,000 per person for US visa facilitation and $2,000 for Canadian visa facilitation.
The lawmaker cited correspondence in which the NSA proposed 22 personnel for visa facilitation in January 2026 and subsequently certified four individuals as bona fide staff in a letter to the US embassy on 18 March.
The petition said the US embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit later requested employment letters.
A 28 May letter from the Ministry of Sports and Recreation reportedly referred to 90 people as NSA volunteers or event coordinators, while a list of 102 names was resubmitted to the Canadian embassy on June 8.
“Only 15 of those individuals could be verified as NSA personnel through the records examined,” Mr Assafuah wrote, adding that the discrepancy “warrants an explanation supported by documentary evidence”.
World Cup allocations
The petitions also raised concerns about the allocation of visa facilitation opportunities by the GTA, whose chief executive, Maame Efua Houadjeto, was linked in the documents to reported allocations of 400 US slots and 800 Canadian slots.
“The scale of these reported allocations raises important questions about the procedures used,” the CHRAJ petition said.
Mr Assafuah also cited a July 2026 petition by 14 GTA regional directors seeking information on the allocation of 400 World Cup slots and the use of sponsorship proceeds.
Other issues raised included a reported GTA media list containing about 50 names, among them journalists Philip Narh and Andy Dosty, research expenditure of approximately $13,000 and the purchase of 300 World Cup tickets on 7 March.
The tickets were reportedly intended to cover Ghana’s three group-stage matches, with four remaining as of May 3, according to the petition.
The lawmaker further alleged irregularities involving GHATOF, saying an allocation initially described as four slots had been expanded to 20, with individuals reportedly charged about 2,250 Ghana cedis each.
“I have also received allegations that the relevant visa fees were not paid to the Embassy and that the amounts collected were not refunded,” he wrote.
The allegations have not been established, and the petitions do not in themselves constitute findings of wrongdoing.
Independent probe
Mr Assafuah asked CHRAJ to investigate suspected corruption, abuse of power and administrative irregularities under Article 218 of Ghana’s Constitution.
He also called on the OSP to investigate suspected corruption and misuse of public office under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959).
In his petition to the president, he requested a commission of inquiry under Article 278(1)(a) of the Constitution, citing the Justice Senyo Dzamefe Commission established after Ghana’s participation in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
“This petition is not a request for a predetermined finding against any individual or institution,” Mr Assafuah said. “It is a request for an independent process through which the relevant allegations can be tested.”
He urged the relevant institutions to preserve records and refer any evidence warranting criminal investigation to the appropriate authorities.
