Ghana pauses citizenship applications for African descendants abroad

Ghana has said it is suspending citizenship applications from descendents of Africans living abroad, a move analysts say could dent the country’s bid to promote itself as a Pan-African hub.

A diaspora community is a group of people who have moved from their ancestral homeland to other parts of the world but still maintain a strong connection to their cultural heritage.

The government in Accra said on Sunday the pause would be used to was make the citizenship application process “more accessible, efficient and user-friendly”.

Analysts told AFP they believed the authorities suspended the process so they could review the cost of applying and introduce a requirement for those interested to prove they had African ancestors.

Ghana has sought to position itself as a prime destination for the African diaspora, which it describes as the country’s “17th region”, and has set up initiatives to attract descendants of enslaved Africans.

International relations analyst Ishmael Hlovor said imposing African ancestry as a requirement for obtaining citizenship could damage Ghana’s image as a home for Africans currently living abroad.

“While reviewing processes is understandable, the new demands on the African diaspora to prove ancestry risk narrowing access to Ghana,” he told AFP.

He said it would not look good for Ghana if the west African country ditched its “very broad” definition of diaspora communities in favour of a much more “selective” one.

But Erieka Bennet, from the Diaspora African Forum NGO, said she thought the pause was merely procedural.

“The suspension is basically saying that they are relooking at the process. It does not say it’s not going to happen,” she told AFP.

The authorities said they would resume processing applications  “shortly”, without giving a precise date.

Ghana began awarding citizenship to members of the “historical diaspora” in 2016.

About 1,000 passports have been issued since then, including to international stars such as influential musician Stevie Wonder and US celebrity Yandy Smith.

Last month, Ghana granted citizenship to US influencer IShowSpeed following his 20-nation tour of Africa.

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