The Minority in Parliament is demanding a public audit into Ghana’s passport issuance system following recent complaints of delays despite the relaunch of the chip-embedded passport programme.
Addressing the press in Parliament, Deputy Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ayeh Asafo-Adjei, blamed the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, for what he described as an unnecessary relaunch of an already existing initiative at a cost of $1.2 million to the taxpayer.
According to the Bosome Freho MP, the passport programme had already been “fully conceived, contracted and financed” under the previous Akufo-Addo administration, with a formal launch on December 2, 2024.
“When the new minister staged a costly relaunch on the 28th April 2025, an event that alone cost the taxpayer 1.2 million US dollars, he failed to increase printing capacity or paper supply,” he stated.
The Minority cited the June 2025 situation report from the passport office, which indicated that 32,467 applications were pending printing, with 68% of applicants having waited more than eight weeks, despite paying for a 15-day express service.
They also referenced a widely circulated video viewed over 1.4 million times, showing stranded applicants including mothers who missed scholarship deadlines and traders without travel documents. “The relaunch solved nothing,” Asafo-Adjei said, insisting that it only “diverted scarce resources away from service delivery.”
The Minority is demanding that a public audit be carried out within 14 days to provide details on the cost, supply chain, and backlog data associated with the chip-embedded passport programme:
“We are by this demanding the following,” Asafo-Adjei stressed. “One, that a public audit of passport programme costs, supply chain and backlog data be conducted within 14 days.”
The Foreign Affairs Minister is yet to respond to the latest claims.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
