Acquisition of Passports: Minister Suggests Raising From GHS 100 to GHS 644

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey

A proposal has been made by Ghana's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to increase the cost of obtaining a passport from GH¢100 to GH¢644.

The Sector Minister, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, spoke to Parliament about the urgent need for the change because of a shortage in passport booklet printing.

She clarified that the production cost, which comes to GH¢400 for each passport booklet, cannot be met by the current passport fee of GH¢100.

This leaves the government financially unsustainable, with each passport issued resulting in a significant deficit of GH¢300.

"Ghanaians will pay realistic prices for passports," said Madam Ayorkor Botchwey, emphasizing the value of reasonable pricing in her speech to the legislature.

She asked the House to take the proposal under consideration, as it is presently being examined by the Committee on Subsidiary Legislation.

The Minister made the point that national ID cards serve as identification documents, so people who need passports for travel are the ones who benefit most from them.

She emphasized the need for financial sustainability in her argument against ongoing subsidies.

In a report on the budget estimates for 2024, the Committee on Foreign Affairs included a comparison of Ghana's passport fees with those of other West African nations.

With considerably higher fees in Cameroon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria, Ghana's current rate of $7.7 was reported to be the lowest in the sub-region.

Minister Botchwey disclosed plans to purchase a massive printer in order to speed up the processing of applications in order to address the backlog of passports.

The suggested fee increase was also supported by Mr. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who cited the necessity of conforming to regional standards and production costs.

Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong expressed concern about the discrepancy between Ghana's low fee of $8 and the charges imposed by neighbouring countries, which range from $40 to $180, and noted that discussions with Parliament were ongoing to finalize the approved fees.

He revealed that, in order to improve security and comply with regulations set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization, chip-embedded passports will be implemented in the second quarter of 2024.

"We charge $8, while Liberia charges $50, so we have to subsidize each passport." Hence, the passports are subsidized with the money used to purchase the printers.

Additionally, we are considering switching from a biometric to a chip-embedded passport. Thus, the price of the chip-embedded version will be higher. We will still be dealing with the issues at the passport office if we keep charging $8. Thus, we must increase the fees," he continued.