General News of Tuesday, 6 August 2019
Source: classfmonline.com
2019-08-06
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey – Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has announced an increase in the number of booklets and introduction of microchips into the Ghanaian passport as parts of an agenda to improve security features and service delivery for passport applicants in Ghana and abroad.
Scores of citizens have often complained about the inability of the sector ministry to deal with the long queues and activities of middlemen who extort money from unsuspecting applicants in the acquisition of passports.
At a media briefing in Accra on Tuesday, 6 August 2019, Ms Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration listed a number of reforms being initiated to improve on the current system.
The Passport Office hinted of the introduction of the chip-embedded passports in 2017, however, it has not been implemented two years after the announcement.
The minister noted “there are plans to introduce a 48-page passport to satisfy the needs of frequent travellers” by the end of 2019.
She continued: “The ministry has started discussions aimed at introducing chip-embedded passports to keep up with the pace of technological advancement and enhance the security of our Ghanaian passports”.
She revealed that the ministry is embarking on other interventions which include online application forms, an extension of passport application centres to eight regional capitals, the establishment of a premium passport application centre at the Accra Digital Centre, overhauling of passport processing equipment, the extension of validity of passports from five years to 10 years.
She added that seven missions abroad issue biometric passports to Ghanaians in the diaspora and the plans are underway for the expansion of other missions across the globe.
She disclosed that Tema and Koforidua have received operationalised centres to provide online passport application services.
