Despite recent public outrage from the Minister of Foreign Affairs over corruption in passport application centers, middlemen referred to as ‘Goro boys’ are thriving at the Cape Coast Passport Office.
These individuals, in collaboration with some passport office personnel, including immigration officers and security officials, are imposing hefty fees to expedite passport issuance, causing inconvenience for many daily visitors.
Unauthorized middlemen have set up makeshift operations in and around the office, even engaging in fraudulent activities like printing and altering passport dates. They charge applicants between GHC1,000 to GHC1,600, promising a passport within one to two weeks.
Civil service workers sharing the premises are also involved, exploiting their positions for a fee. The Regional Information Service Department office has turned into an annex for passport services, where applicants seek assistance with online applications.
An insider mentioned that idle officers have time to engage in these illicit activities. GhanaWeb’s investigation revealed that these middlemen dress professionally, approaching potential applicants to persuade them into their services. An anonymous applicant revealed being charged GHC2,000, negotiating down to GHC1,500 to expedite the process.
“I paid money to receive my passport within a week but my friend who could not pay is still struggling to get hers, though it’s been months now,” she told GhanaWeb.
She received her passport on the planned day, but her buddy, who came with her, is yet to receive her passport, months after going through all of the procedures.
The petitioner asked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to enact measures to clean up the system and make it more equitable for everyone in the country.
“The government has introduced digitalization to scrub all these corrupt activities in the system but people find their way out to bypass the system,” she admonished.
In response to the circumstance, Mr Micheal Asante, Regional Director of the office, denied the activities of Goro lads who had taken over the premises, saying that those may not have come from his office.
“There are people around particularly Goro boys but I don’t have any Goro man on my staff list. But we have people around who have mounted containers and others who claim they are passport application centers and charge them depending on the service the person wants. I am not talking about it because it’s outside my jurisdiction but none of my staff have been involved in that act,” he told our reporter.
He promised the office that it was working hard to overcome those issues in order to make the passport application appear less difficult.
“Sometimes logistics issues are the only problem that delays passports in the Regions but when there are booklet immediately our backlogs are printed out,” he said.
Mr. Asante encouraged applicants to start the registration process online before coming to the office for biometrics and other procedures.
When caught in the Goro actions, he warned perpetrators to stop or risk prosecution.
“I don’t tolerate such acts and no applicant has informed or complained that my staff are charging for the process and if I get hold of one the person will immediately be sacked or sanctioned,” he said.