Senior Presidential Advisor Yaw Osafo-Maafo has raised concerns over the large number of uncollected passports at various passport offices across Ghana.
As of now, approximately 86,000 passports remain unclaimed, causing significant inefficiencies and financial burdens on the government.
During a press briefing on June 19, 2024, Mr. Osafo-Maafo highlighted the specific numbers, stating that in Takoradi alone, 8,000 printed passports have yet to be picked up by applicants. Cape Coast faces a similar situation, with 8,696 uncollected passports. In Accra, the number is even higher, with 19,500 passports waiting to be claimed.
“Because we subsidize the production of these passports, we are printing them for people at $4 when we should be printing them at $100. This subsidy locks up the capital of the government, making the subsidy a significant problem,” Mr. Osafo-Maafo explained.
In a bid to improve the efficiency and delivery of passports, the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor, in collaboration with the Public Sector Reform Secretariat and the World Bank, presented modern IT equipment worth $1.3 million to the passport office in Accra in 2023. This initiative is part of a broader project that targets thirteen public sector institutions, including the Passport Office, to enhance service delivery.
At the equipment presentation ceremony, Mr. Osafo-Maafo emphasized the importance of this intervention in boosting the efficiency of passport issuance. He expressed optimism that the new IT infrastructure would significantly improve the processing and management of passport applications.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo urged passport applicants to collect their documents promptly to ensure the sustainability of the subsidized passport production program.