Government is reviewing the duration of the expiry date of passport from five to ten years.
The move is part of measures by government to reduce the hustle applicants go through in the acquisition and renewal of passports.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, announced this when she paid an unannounced visit to the Passport Office in Accra.
She said the Ministry will soon open centres in Tema, Eastern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
The visit by the Minister and officials from the Foreign Affairs was to familiarize herself with the work of the passport office and challenges faced by staff that has accumulated in the delays in acquiring passports.
She was taken through the process by officials of the passport office.
Passport acquisition in Ghana is cumbersome. Applicants go through horrible experiences to get one. Applicants have to join queues as early as 2am in order to meet the cut-off point of 100 applicants the office processes in a day.
They will then go through a vetting and verification processes by various stakeholders such as the birth and death registry and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, announced sweeping changes that will help ease the process.
She said the Ministry will open news centres in other parts of the country and extend the duration of the expiry date.
She said government will consider establishing a modern passport printing centre at the Ridge office to ease up the process.
The Minister’s visit yielded instant results as some applicants who have their passports locked up in the process were issued at the intervention by the Minister.
The Minister promised of constant visits to get first-hand information.
Source: GBC
