By George Egeh, Correspondent (Ghana)
Due to complaints by some Ghanaians that the five-year validity period was too short an online petition was conducted recently to collect signatures to get the government to increase the validity of Ghana’s passport and more than 10,000 endorsements were received over the past few months.
In the past, Ghanaian passport booklets were valid for (10) years until it was changed to 5 years in a bid to conform to recommended standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
In considering signatures received recently endorsing the increase, the government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has extended the validity period of the country’s ordinary passport booklets from five years to 10 years.
Ghanaian citizens who called for the extension in the years of validity back to ten years in their arguments indicated that the change in the period will take away the stress and extra resources, and the hurdles “one needs to go through in passport acquisition and renewal while at the same time reducing the congestion at our various Passport Acquisition Centers and Embassies across the globe.”
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the proposal on the same matter through the Director of Passports, Alexander Ntrakwa, when he appeared before them in March 2017.
Ranking Member of the Committee Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa at the time argued that the five year expiry period was too short a time, especially given the challenges that applicants go through in getting a new passport or to renew an old one.
While suggesting that the five year validity period would ordinarily rake in more funds to the ministry, he said the situation does not inure to the benefit of the passport holders.
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey after an unannounced visit to the Passport Offices in Accra promised to ensure the introduction of new measures to address the challenges with passport acquisition and renewal in the country including the elimination of Goro boys and the long queues at acquisition centres.
Among other things, she said she would work to ensure decentralization in passport processing by establishing new regional passport offices. Meanwhile, the cost of processing passports in Ghana remains GHc 50 and GHc100 for regular and express services respectively.
