The Member of Parliament for Damongo and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has dismissed what he describes as misconceptions surrounding Ghana’s new chip-embedded passport system.
Effective April 28, 2025, Ghana ceased issuing old biometric passports as the country transitions to chip-embedded passports in line with international standards.
The enhanced travel document contains a microprocessor that stores the holder’s biometric and photo information, making it compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements.
Ghana’s current passport type is expected to become obsolete by 2030.
In a detailed statement issued on Tuesday, May 6, Abu Jinapor clarified that the initiative was conceived and fully executed by the immediate past Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government—not under the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
“Biometric Travel Solutions Limited duly executed the project, and on Monday, 2nd December 2024, then-President Akufo-Addo officially launched the biometric chip-embedded passport in Accra, where passports were issued to the President, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, Ministers of State, and other dignitaries,” the statement said in part.
He added that at the time of the launch, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already secured an initial batch of 50,000 chip-embedded passport booklets, with an additional 200,000 ordered for delivery within six months.
According to him, these measures—put in place before the Akufo-Addo government left office in January 2025—laid a solid foundation for the mass rollout of the new passport system.
“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 stated.
Jinapor described the NDC government’s recent fanfare around the passport as redundant.
“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.
