Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has revealed that about 90,000 passport applicants are yet to receive their passports, emphasising that her ministry is taking immediate steps to rectify the issue.
According to the Foreign Minister, the backlog is the result of global supply chain disruptions that affect all importers globally. This, she claims, explains Ghana’s provider of passport booklets’ inability to meet the country’s expectations.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, speaking to the media yesterday, October 3, 2022, after an unannounced working visit to the Greater Accra, Passport Application Centre (PAC) at Tema Station, Accra, and the Passport Head Office, Ridge, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration will take delivery of over 300,000 booklets in the next 10 days to clear the backlog.
“We normally would order our booklets in advance. When we get to a certain level of supply, we order the next batch of booklets. Unfortunately, because of COVID and the supply chain issues that have occurred as a result, we are having difficulties with our booklets coming in.
As we speak we have booklets in stock, but the booklets that we have in stock are less than demand. Fortunately, we will receive booklets around the 13th of this month, way more than what is in the backlog.
“We are expecting over 300,000 this month. I believe the backlog is about 90,000, we have some in stock to take care of emergencies and expedited service and so on,” Hon Botchwey said.
Clarifying reports that Ghana’s passport booklet supplier is Chinese and that the country owes her Chinese supplier, the Foreign Minister stated that the charge was false.
Miss Botchwey also hinted that the government will switch from biometric to chip-enabled passports within the next seven months. She noted that the contract was awarded to a Ghanaian-owned company, and she is hopeful that the service of issuing the same will begin within the timescales that have been stipulated.
“The chip-embedded passports are the new global trend in terms of passports issued by sovereign states. The level of security guarantees that they offer makes chip-embedded passports most preferred worldwide,” she added.
