Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has recommended that Ghanaians unable to afford a passport should abstain from applying for it, emphasizing that passports are no longer the primary means of identification.
Addressing journalists, she underscored the efficacy of the national identification system as the principal form of identification.
Botchwey remarked, “Today, as we speak, we have the National Identification that is working very well, so that’s our primary source of identification. No longer the passport.
“And even those who have the national ID can travel into the country with it. So, then, I’m humbly asking Ghanaians that, please, if you do not need a passport and because you cannot afford it, please, humbly, I’m asking you not to go for a passport because it’s no longer your primary source of identification,” she added.
“If the government is subsidising heavily, it’s difficult to provide any good services to Ghanaians,” she said.
She added, “Even individuals possessing the national ID can utilize it for travel within the country. Hence, I respectfully urge Ghanaians who do not require a passport due to financial constraints to refrain from obtaining one.”
Expressing apprehension regarding the government’s subsidy of passport applications, she cautioned that maintaining such subsidies could compromise service quality for citizens. “Heavy government subsidies make it challenging to deliver quality services,” she stated.
Botchwey assured collaboration with Parliament in the event of a review of passport fees, stressing that fee adjustments aim not to burden citizens financially.
The Ministry recently announced fee increments for passport services, effective April 1, 2024, in alignment with the 2023 Fees and Charges regulations, L.I. 2481.
Under the new fee structure, the processing fee for an expedited 48-page passport is GH¢800, while a 32-page application costs GH¢700.
She noted: “Fees come from the Parliament of Ghana. We make a presentation to them; we give them the bare facts of what it is. Parliament is aware of this, and these charges came from Parliament. If Parliament decides, we should go back. We will have to look at it. It is Parliament that has decided, and we will go by it.”