The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced that all ongoing reforms in the nation’s passport services are happening under reduced passport application fees.
According to him, the cost of implementing the new changes is being taken care of under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, so the Ghanaian taxpayer has not been burdened with any additional contract.
“The cost of these reforms is being taken care of by the reduced passport application fees under a PPP arrangement, so the Ghanaian taxpayer has not been burdened with any additional contract,” Mr. Ablakwa wrote in a post on X on Sunday, April 27.
The Minister, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, made this known while sharing what he described as interesting facts about the country’s chip-embedded passport reforms.
Ghana on December 2, 2024, launched a chip-embedded Ghanaian passport with enhanced biometric features to make travelling seamless.
The new security-enhanced passports will make Ghana compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements, as the country’s current passports will be obsolete by 2030.
Issuance of the travel document, which has a microprocessor embedding the holder’s biometric and photo information, will begin on April 28.
As part of the reforms, Mr. Ablakwa announced that applicants would not be charged extra for the courier delivery of their chip-embedded passports, with Ghana Post serving as the lead courier service provider.
“Ghana Post’s presence across the country will allow Ghanaians with address challenges to pick up their chip-embedded passports at the nearest Ghana Post Office,” he said.
