The Member of Parliament for Damongo and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has described the re-launch of Ghana’s chip-embedded passport by the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) government as unnecessary and a waste of public funds.
According to him, every major aspect of the passport initiative was already completed and officially launched by the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government before leaving office in January 2025.
“We consider the purported re-launch of a project that has already been completed and officially launched to be unnecessary. It serves no functional purpose and constitutes an unnecessary burden on the public purse,” he stressed in a statement issued on Tuesday, May 6.
Abu Jinapor said the new chip-embedded passport system was fully initiated, executed, and unveiled by the previous administration to meet international travel standards.
“Every essential aspect of the chip-embedded passport programme, from policy formulation to contract execution and logistical delivery, was meticulously completed by the Akufo-Addo government before it handed over on 7th January 2025,” he noted.
He explained that the project was executed by Biometric Travel Solutions Limited, and that on December 2, 2024, then-President Nana Akufo-Addo officially launched the new passports in Accra, with the first batch issued to the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Ministers of State, and other dignitaries.
At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had secured 50,000 booklets and ordered another 200,000 for delivery within six months, laying the groundwork for a smooth rollout of the system.
Ghana officially transitioned to chip-embedded passports on April 28, 2025, ceasing issuance of the older biometric passports.
The new travel document, which includes a microprocessor storing biometric and photo information, complies with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements. The older passport type is expected to be phased out by 2030.
