are all Ghanaian Passports Assigned the south Africa visa-free Status or it's For diplomatic Passports only?

Cape Town

Social media in Ghana erupted into a wild uproar when the South African Home Affairs Ministry tweeted out a list of countries granted visa-free status to the country. Myself included😄. The excitement stemmed from the difficulty in obtaining a South African visa from Ghana. I know a few people who have constantly been “bounced” for wanting to travel to South Africa for work, family visit or educational purposes. Prayers have been answered. Or so it seems.

After the tweet went viral , several persons commented that this was only applicable to Ghanaian Diplomats & Services . Gabby Otchere-Darko Esq tweeted out this photo of list of countries which Ghana has agreements on Mutual Visa Exemption.

The official Ministry of Affairs document dated 26th June, 2019 shows that only Ghanaian Diplomats & Service are entitled to travel to SA without a visa. The tweet didn't have any context and I couldn't help but wonder what exactly this meant. Did the current waiving of Visa requirements for Ghana only apply to Ghanaian Diplomats or to all Ghanaians? We would like to know. Will Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry update it's list to “All Passports” ? We want to know!

A move like this is an attempt by the South African government to increase tourism revenue and increase job creation in the country.

Aside waiving visa requirements for these select countries , the country previously embarked on a full scale social media campaign promoting the country's safari and cultural sights using Instagram and influential bloggers. I believe this was a PR attempt at shining a positive light on the country in the face of recent xenophobic attacks.

Truth be told, the official South Africa Tourism Instagram account is one of the most visually appealing and engaging accounts on the continent.

There's been an increase also in South African food & drink culture experiences in Accra and flight ticket deals every now and then.

Personally a trip to Sun City has been on my bucket list for the longest time 🙈. I just wish someone would come out and clarify whether this visa-free status is for the select few or for all Ghanaians. Wouldn't you want to know? 😃