Former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, strongly criticizes the recent hike in passport application fees, emphasizing that the current high cost of living makes it an inappropriate time for the government to increase prices for various products and services.
Mubarak expressed his concerns during a discussion with journalists on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, highlighting the rising costs, particularly in data, and the online application process for passports.
He deemed it insensitive to raise passport fees at this juncture.
His remarks followed the announcement by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, regarding the government’s decision to raise passport application fees.
The minister defended the move, stating it is necessary for the institution to maintain quality services for Ghanaians. Ampratwum-Sarpong argued that, despite the increase, Ghana’s rates remain lower than those of other countries in the sub-region, even though they share the same passport supplier.
“… and even Togo; $40. Supplied by the same supplier who is supplying us with these passports. Ghanaian charges, we charge $8, meaning we are having to subsidize every passport. So, the money to buy the passports is being used to subsidize the passports for Kwaku Manu. Until Kwaku Manu is prepared to pay the realistic passport fees, we will continue to have these problems,” he explained.
Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong went on to describe the plans to modernize the passport types that are currently in use in Ghana.
He continued by saying that price increases would follow automatically if this was done.
“And also, we are thinking of upgrading our passport from the biometric to the chip-embedded. So, the chip-embedded is going to cost more and if we continue sitting at the $8, we’ll continue to have the problems that we are having at the passport office, not what has been done by the officers over there. So, we have to brace ourselves, and when the discussions start, we’ll all have to get the picture that we need to pay the realistic fees to get the kind of service we are expecting,” he explained.