The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, is enraged over the illegal and exorbitant fees being charged at the passport office.
She was infuriated over the ongoing exploitation, pitching the acquisition of a Ghanaian passport to the highest bidder as against the first come, first serve procedure.
She has since informed all staff who have worked at the office for over a year not to return next week, Monday, August 21, 2023, as new officers would replace them.
“Anybody who has been here for more than a year, from Monday, please do not come back because you have been changed…,” the Minister announced to the hearing of the staff.
Apparently, it is an existing directive that no agency working under the powers of the ministry at the passport office should keep staff at one office for over a year.
Though Shirley admitted that the directive had been grossly overlooked sometimes, she “intends to ensure that this is carried out.”
The Minister paid an unannounced visit to the passport office in Accra on August 14, 2023, following reports of the continuous operation of ‘goro boys’ with the aid of staff.
Her outrage stems from reports that yet-to-be-identified staff at the passport offices, in connivance with non-staff, commonly referred to as ‘goro boys,’ unlawfully charge as much as GH₡3,000.00 from applicants for a passport in a twinkle of an eye.
The unwarranted amount is several increments from the approved GH₡100 for standard and GH₡150 for expedited processes, which should not delay for over a month.
It is instructive to note that some passport applicants are able to receive their passports faster due to the illegal fees charged by the goro boys, whom the Foreign Affairs Minister confirmed have collaborators who are public servants.
Addressing journalists on the visits to the passport office in Accra, the Minister, who was visibly livid, indicated that the disturbing trends she observed dent the image of the passport office and, by extension, the ministry.
NORMAL PROCESS
The passport acquisition processes have witnessed some upgrades, transitioning from entirely manual to digital processes. Applicants are able to apply for a passport online from anywhere, book the available date for an appointment for their supporting documents to be verified in person, and have their biometrics captured.
An applicant who chooses to pay the standard fee of GH₡100 for the forms should have the passport in about a month. However, paying an additional GH₡150 for expedited service should take two weeks.
The unfortunate reality is that the expedited service could last for months; talk less of the regular, a development that defeats the essence of most of the reforms introduced.
EXPLOIT
However, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ayorkor Botchwey, briefing the media, corroborated several media reports on the extortion under her bed.
The introduction of the online processes, for instance, was also to deal with corruption in the acquisition processes, but the minister feared that had been defeated by the public servants entrusted with confidence to man the system.
“How can GH¢100 for standard service passport acquisition and GH¢150 for expedited service be bumped up to GH¢2000 and GH¢3000? I hear they don’t even charge GH¢2,000 now they are charging GH¢3,000 and it is wrong,” she burst out.
PROBE
According to her, she has sanctioned investigations into the illegal operations and “we have some leads,” adding that heads will roll soon.
“But I can say, and we all will agree, that a goro person is outside the passport office, and they need somebody inside to work with. They cannot do it on their own. People are paying GH¢2,000 and GH¢3,000 to acquire a passport. Why should this be so?” the minister retorted
She continued, “We are investigating, and we have some leads that we are dealing with, and very soon we will be able to have some firm information that we will deal with.
“We want to bring some sanity. Every time politicians are tagged as corrupt, meanwhile, it is some public servants who will do things that shouldn’t be done, and they put it on politicians,” she defended.
