The President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has questioned Ghana’s excitement over the recent reversal of U.S. visa restrictions, arguing that the country could, and should have, negotiated for far more than it got.
With the 15% trade tariff imposed on Ghana by the Trump administration, Franklin Cudjoe maintains that Ghana should have asked for a reduction to bring relief from crippling trade tariffs.
This new perspective was shared by the founding president of IMANI Africa when responding to a Facebook post by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, celebrating Washington’s decision to lift visa sanctions imposed on Ghana during the Trump administration.
While acknowledging that the earlier threat of visa restrictions had been a concern, the IMANI boss described the outcome as “a visa pittance,” saying the government failed to leverage the opportunity for more substantial economic concessions.
“Frankly, my brother Honourable Okudzeto, I wish this had not been posted and celebrated. We had this already. Yes, I know the Trump administration threatened visa restrictions, but we could have negotiated for more, perhaps a good reduction of the 15% tariff imposed on Ghana,” Franklin Cudjoe reacted.
At the heart of his criticism is the 15% tariff currently imposed on Ghanaian exports to the United States, a trade barrier that raises the cost of Ghanaian goods, limits competitiveness, and drains potential earnings for exporters and farmers alike.
Cudjoe argued that, given Ghana’s cooperation with the U.S. on sensitive matters such as accepting deported West African nationals, and considering President Mahama’s bold diplomatic positioning on global issues like Gaza, Ghana should have seized the moment to push for tariff reductions rather than settle for the symbolic relief of visa clearance.
“Knowing that Trump is a deal maker on almost everything and given our President’s daring, audaciously great speech on Gaza, we should not be settling for this visa pittance. Is this all we got from taking in our deportee West African neighbours?” he quizzed.
Despite the stance of Franklin Cudjoe, for many Ghanaians, the lifting of visa restrictions is welcome news, especially for families and businesses that depend on travel.
But Cudjoe insists the bigger economic picture cannot be ignored. A simple trade-off, visa access for a small group of travelers, does little to tackle the structural issues that weigh down Ghana’s economy.
The founding president of IMANI Africa’s argument underscores a broader concern of whether Ghana is fully leveraging its diplomatic capital. With the U.S. eager to strengthen ties in Africa amid growing competition from China and Russia, some believe Ghana had significant room to negotiate.
But unfortunately, the government has accepted a modest gesture while leaving far greater economic opportunities untouched.
