By: Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced that government will ensure every region in Ghana has a passport application centre by December this year.
He said the initiative is part of efforts to decentralise passport services and improve accessibility across the country. The first of the new centres will be opened in Bolgatanga this month.
Mr Ablakwa made this known during a ceremony in Accra to present diplomatic passports to five Ghanaians recognised for promoting African unity — travel vlogger Wode Maya, Grammy-nominated musician Rocky Dawuni, broadcaster and entrepreneur Anita Erskine, contemporary artist Ibrahim Mahama, and British-Ghanaian entrepreneur Dentaa Amoateng MBE.
The Minister noted that reforms at the Foreign Affairs Ministry have already streamlined the passport application process. According to him, Ghanaians now receive their passports in record time and no longer have to queue at collection centres since documents can be delivered through courier services.
“The Foreign Affairs Ministry has become very efficient, and Ghanaians are already confirming that now it is a smooth process. They are receiving their passports in record time and do not have to stress to pick them up at passport offices, because they are being delivered via courier services. But we still have seven regions without passport application centres. By December, we will make sure every region has one, starting with Bolgatanga this month,” he said.
