World Cup visa scandal: Over 30 people misrepresented as GTA board members to US Embassy – Vincent Assafuah alleges

The Ghana Tourism Authority, or GTA, is Ghana’s public agency for tourism development and administration. Its board is expected to provide strategic direction, oversight, and accountability for the authority. The article does not set out the board’s formal legal duties, but it treats the board’s membership as an official record that should be accurate.

That distinction matters because the MP said the GTA board had about 11 members. He named a former chairperson, Gertrude Emefa Donkor, and said Phyllis Engmann replaced her. He also mentioned representatives connected with government institutions, including Samuel Seth Passah, and the GTA chief executive.

The dispute concerns a document allegedly sent to the US Embassy. Assafuah said it listed more than 30 people as GTA board members or affiliates. He wants the GTA chief executive suspended while investigators establish who was officially connected to the authority and how the list was prepared.

The central numerical discrepancy is striking: Vincent Ekow Assafuah alleged that over 30 people were represented to the US Embassy as Ghana Tourism Authority board members or affiliates. He contrasted that figure with a GTA board he said contained about 11 people. The gap raised questions about whether the document used accurate descriptions.

The alleged list was connected to engagements concerning the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Assafuah said it was intended to identify GTA board members, yet it contained many more names than the authority’s stated board size. He referred to several people by name and questioned whether they had legitimate links to the GTA.

The figures remain allegations from the MP’s account. The interview alone did not independently establish the document’s full contents, the exact status of every person listed, or whether all were formally described as board members rather than affiliates. Those points would require checking official records and the submitted document.

Assafuah alleged that names were submitted to the US Embassy in a way that misrepresented people as GTA board members or affiliates. He said the document was meant to identify the board, although the number of names exceeded the board’s stated membership. He argued that this could mislead the embassy about who officially represented the authority.

He cited several names, including Pasa Lenda Esidwa, Pasa Lisa Zola, and Pasa Antoinette Aram. He also referred to an unnamed person who allegedly said in a WhatsApp exchange that they obtained a visa by claiming to be a GTA board member. Assafuah questioned why people bearing the name “Pasa” appeared on the alleged list.

The article clearly limits what can be concluded. The identities and claims cited by the MP were not independently established by the interview alone. The document’s authenticity, the precise wording used for each person, and the unnamed individual’s visa account still require formal verification.

Being described as a GTA board member or affiliate could make a person appear to have an official institutional role. That may matter in visa-related travel because an embassy assessing an application could consider the stated purpose of travel, the applicant’s claimed affiliation, and whether the trip appears connected to an organised public engagement. The article does not describe the embassy’s visa rules.

The MP referred to an unnamed person who allegedly said, in a WhatsApp exchange, that they obtained a visa on the basis of being a GTA board member. If true, that would suggest the claimed affiliation was presented as relevant to the application. It would not, by itself, prove the visa was improperly issued or that the person had no other qualifying information.

The current account remains unverified. The article does not confirm the person’s identity, the visa application’s contents, the embassy’s decision-making process, or whether the alleged list affected any application. Those facts would need evidence from official records and the people involved.

The earlier timeline matters because the MP challenged the Ministry of Sports’ account of when it first engaged the US Embassy about the 2026 World Cup. He said the ministry had indicated that engagement began around March or April 2026. An embassy email he cited pointed to earlier discussions.

The email was dated February 3, 2026, and was attributed to Rukmini Kukuaa Coffie, a Public Engagement Specialist in the embassy’s Emerging Voices programme. It referred to discussions from an October 22nd, 2025, FIFA World Cup stakeholder meeting and invited recipients to a third stakeholder meeting. Assafuah also said the ministry’s Chief Director was copied.

On that basis, Assafuah argued that meetings occurred before the dates given by the ministry. The correspondence supports a question about the timeline, but the article does not independently establish the ministry’s full account, the attendance at earlier meetings, or the exact nature of every engagement.

The Ghana Tourism Authority is involved because its board membership and affiliates were allegedly described to the US Embassy. Its chief executive, Maame Efua Sekyi-Aidoo Houadjeto, became the target of Assafuah’s call for suspension. The Ministry of Sports is involved because the MP challenged its account of embassy engagement. The National Sports Authority is involved because its chief executive was also part of the Minority’s earlier demand for action.

The named people include Assafuah, Houadjeto, former board chairperson Gertrude Emefa Donkor, replacement chairperson Phyllis Engmann, Samuel Seth Passah, and Rukmini Kukuaa Coffie. The article also mentions Yusif Issaka Jajah and the ministry’s Chief Director.

In general, the GTA should maintain accurate institutional records, the Sports Ministry should communicate its engagements accurately, and the NSA should manage its own sports administration. The article does not assign a specific alleged act to every institution or prove misconduct. Investigators would need to establish responsibility from records and testimony.

Official records provide the baseline for determining who belongs to a public agency’s board. Appointment letters, government notices, board minutes, and current membership lists can establish whether a person was a chairperson, member, representative, or outsider. This matters because a foreign embassy may rely on descriptions supplied by Ghanaian institutions.

The article gives a clear comparison to test. Assafuah said the GTA board had about 11 members, while a document allegedly sent to the embassy listed more than 30 people as board members or affiliates. Investigators could compare that document with appointment records, correspondence, and the authority’s own records. They could also examine the email timeline and the alleged WhatsApp exchange.

A proper investigation would verify the document, interview responsible officials, and distinguish board members from affiliates. It would also test whether anyone knowingly supplied false information. The article records allegations and calls for suspension, but it does not establish final responsibility or wrongdoing.