The immediate past Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Mampong, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, has clarified that the newly launched chip-embedded passport by the current Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is not a fresh initiative by the present government.
Speaking on Peace FM, Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong stated that the project was originally launched by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration on December 2, 2024.
According to him, a limited issuance of the passports was carried out following the initial rollout, which even sparked interest and engagement on social media at the time.
He explained that the chip-embedded passport project was developed in response to directives from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which called on member states to transition from traditional biometric passports to more advanced, secure chip-based systems.
Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong expressed concern that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration chose to publicly relaunch the passport initiative, despite the groundwork and formal introduction having already been done.
He suggested that the relaunch could have been avoided as a cost-saving measure.
“This was not a new idea. It was a project we launched and initiated, in line with international standards. The current administration could have simply continued with the rollout instead of holding another high-profile launch, which involves extra spending” he said.
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Source: Comfort Sweety Hayford/ATLFMNEWS
