400% increase in passport application fee draconian, insensitive – Ablakwa
Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described the 400% increase in passport application fees as draconian, obnoxious, and insensitive.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration has officially increased standard passport application (32 pages) fees from GHC100 to GHC500 effective today, 1st April 2024 denoting a 400 percent increase in the fee.
In December last year, the Minister for Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey suggested to the parliament’s committee on Subsidiary Legislation the need to review the fees for passport application.
The Minister revealed that the fee Ghanaians pay for passports is not sustainable and that the government runs a deficit of GHc300 whenever one passport is issued, highlighting that the time has come for Ghanaians to pay realistic prices for their passports.
Starting Monday, April 1, 2024, the new fees presented by the Ministry are:
PASSPORT APPLICATION TYPE INITIAL FEE CURRENT FEE
Expedited Application 48 pages GHc200 GHc800
Expedited Application 32 pages GHc150 GHc700
Standard Application 32 pages GHc100 GHc500
Standard Application 48 pages GHc150 GHc644
But commenting on the development in an interview with GHOne TV, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who’s also a Member of Parliament for North Tongu said the timing for the increment is not right as the country is in considerable economic hardship and a cost-of-living crisis which has left the citizenry in distress.
He added that even if it should be done, it must be done at a time when the economy has improved, and the increase must be gradual.
”…This is not the time for effecting increment, wait for us to recover economically, and then you do it gradually, peace meal approach. You can do 10% to 15% gradually every other year. I’m clear in my mind that this cost increment is too high, and this is not the timing that anybody will welcome. So, it has to be reviewed, so our [Minority] position is that the Foreign Ministry should take a second look immediately.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
