Similar to the program fellow West African state, Benin, is currently executing, Ghana, since 2016, introduced a scheme to allow Africans in diaspora attain Ghanaian citizenship.
However, recent reports indicate that the program has been suspended on some technicality challenges and complaints.
The program, whose primary beneficiaries are victims of the transatlantic slave trade, was put on hold to develop a more seamless system.
Some who have applied for Ghanaian citizenship under the project lamented that the number of stages involved, as well as the money required to apply were much.
The cost of the application is $136 (£100), and those who make the short list must pay an additional $2,280 (£1,700).
Nevertheless, over a thousand individuals, including the African American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, have acquired Ghanaian citizenship in recent years via the program, as seen on the BBC.
Dr. Erieka Bennet, ambassador for the Diaspora African Forum, who guides individuals in moving to Ghana, relayed to the BBC that many prospective residents found it “impossible” to submit DNA evidence within a week of submitting their applications, along with questions about the validity of DNA testing.
Fortunately, the ambassador noted that this problem will not persist, as the new system is being built to address it.
Benin’s African diaspora citizenship program
Last year, in July, the Republic of Benin designated the acclaimed director and his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, as thematic ambassadors to the Afro-descendant diaspora in the United States.
At the time, American R&B singer Ciara was among the first people to receive Beninese citizenship, alongside Tonya Lee.
Initiated by the current Beninese president, Patrice Talon, “My Afro Origins” program is meant to draw in more Africans abroad to Benin, ultimately enhancing the country’s human resources and tourism, but primarily encouraging people of African descent go back home.
The Beninese government created the web platform My Afro Origins last year to help people of African descent worldwide locate and legally claim their ancestry, including the possibility of attaining Beninese nationality.
