Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has assured that the reduction of passport fees to GH₵350 will not result in indebtedness or require government subsidies.
On the floor of parliament on Thursday, the foreign affairs minister announced a reduction in the price of the 32 – page passport booklet from GH₵500 to GH₵350.
He criticized what he describes as a prior “unconscionable” increase from 100 to GH₵500, leading to public outcry.
The price increase implemented under the Akufo-Addo led government aimed to cover passport booklet printing costs.
Formerly a ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ablakwa stated that he previously found no evidence to support claims of government subsidies for passports.
He emphasized saying “As a ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee at the time, I recall that we asked for details, for evidence of the supposed government subsidy at the time. We did not receive it. Having gone to the Ministry, I still haven’t seen evidence that we were subsidizing passports. Some figures were put out but there was no supporting evidence.”
He explained that the Mahama administration is responding to public concerns by making passports more affordable.
He believes this will ultimately benefit both citizens and the government through increased accessibility without financial loss to the state.
“And the work we have done with our colleagues at the Ministry, we are confident that the GH₵350 Ghana will not put us in any indebtedness. There will be no loss to the state,” he said….”and don’t forget that these GH₵350 is still an increment from the previous GH₵100 at the time that this PPP (Public-Private Partnership) arrangement was negotiated.”
The foreign Affairs Minister, also indicated that a committee would be formed to review the previous government’s initiative to replace the current passport booklet with a chip-embedded version.
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Source: Aba Aikins/ATLFMNEWS
