As I shut the door and settle into the front seat of the nearly dilapidated taxi, the customary greeting tumble out of my mouth. “Good afternoon, how are you?”
“Fine and you too?” the driver responds.
“I am also fine,” I chirp back in a friendly ritual that is repeated throughout my day.
A few beats go by and then the driver asks, “What is your country?”
“The United States”
“Ahhh, America! I wish to go there.”
“By the grace of God,” I reply. This is probably the fifth time this week that I have either heard this desire or have been asked to take someone there this week. And the truth is, my citizenship opens a lot more doors than Ghanaian citizenship does.
The Privilege of a US Passport
My little blue book, with the fading and worn golden seal of the United States stamped on the front and filled with pages depicting landscapes from my home country, allows me to go to 120 more countries visa-free than holders of a Ghanaian passport.
The Henley and Partners in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association publishes a global ranking of the travel freedom for each countries citizen based on visa regulations. German passports afford the most freedom, with 177 visa-free destinations while Afghan passports have the least travel freedom with 25 visa-free countries. The United States is ranked 4th with 174 visa-free countries, while Ghana is 73rd with 64 visa-free countries.
The Troubles and Struggles of a Ghanaian Passport
But even getting to the stage of having a Ghanaian passport can be an arduous task. I’ve been told that the average time to wait for a passport is more than six months, even though normal service is advertised as taking 15 days. Have a trip planned in that time? You’ll likely end up paying some kind of bribe. They are also notoriously difficult to get, even though every citizen is entitled to one.
There is an incredible amount of opportunity and drive among Ghanaians. Many people work multiple jobs and have a side skill that they also use to generate income. Yet, the dream of many is to be able to go abroad and have access to the capital in the rest of the world economy. However, bureaucratic obstacles prevent that hustle from even having a shot beyond the borders of Ghana.