Ghana on Friday held the 2026 diaspora town hall meeting to strengthen its relations with Africans in the diaspora.
The town hall meeting, themed “Listening Today, Building Tomorrow: Strengthening Ghana’s Partnership with the Diaspora,” aimed to identify the challenges faced by diaspora Africans seeking to return to Ghana and to gather suggestions for addressing these issues.
Kofi Okyere-Darko, Director of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, said Ghana’s attraction as the preferred destination for Africans in the diaspora continues to increase, as the office receives between 15 and 25 applications monthly from people seeking to relocate and settle in the country.
“These are people from the Caribbean, from the United States, and other places, between 15 and 25, every month. They want to move to Ghana, get into agribusiness, or set up other businesses. So, it’s been very encouraging,” Okyere-Darko said.
The official said the diaspora affairs office is working with the Interior (Home Affairs) Ministry to deal with the issue of the relatively high fee of 25,000 Ghana cedis (2,171 U.S. dollars) charged for citizenship acquisition.
“Hopefully, before the next citizenship conferment, as part of Ghana’s 70th anniversary, we’re going to review the amount of 25,000 cedis paid to acquire Ghanaian citizenship,” he pledged.
Nakati Kambon, a historical African diasporan who received her Ghanaian citizenship in 2019, said Ghana is an intriguing place to live, with warm, loving people.
“Ghanaians are very loving people. Many people are excited to collaborate with us, and you should connect with them. And so, it’s not all bad, but it’s not all great. It is what you make it,” Kambon added. Amanda Mensah, who also moved in from Canada, and now runs a real estate business in Ghana, encouraged Ghanaians to actively welcome their historical kith and kin returning from the diaspora and help them adapt to the language and culture of their homeland.