The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced new reforms at the nation’s passport services.
The Minister, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, said passport officials will face penalties if they fail to deliver passports within 15 days.
“Passport officials will be sanctioned if they do not ensure your passport is delivered under 15 days,” Mr. Ablakwa wrote in a post on X on Sunday, April 27.
He made this known while announcing what he described as interesting facts about the nation’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.
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.
According to him, all these reforms are happening under reduced passport application fees.
“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,” he noted.
