Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A) June 15, GNA - Mr. Christian Cato, Brong-Ahafo Regional Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service, has said, the biomet ric passport is to eliminate fraud, usually orchestrated by "connection men." It is also to streamline the passport acquisition processes and accord

the Ghanaian passport global credibility.

Mr. Cato gave the explanation at Dormaa-Ahenkro, at a public forum, organized to educate the people on the features of the biometric passport .. "The exercise was neither vindictive oriented nor designed to favour

any group of individuals whatsoever but tailored to enhance the dignity o f the Ghanaian passport elsewhere in the world," he stated. Mr. Cato announced that the five year validity guaranteed to un-expi red passports was to allow ample time for a smooth transition into the biomet ric system.

He explained that biometric features of applicants would be taken twice - first during the submission of passport forms and again at the po int of collection of the passport - to ensure that the document was handed ov er to the real applicants but not to a representative of any kind. Reacting to a question on fears that the Births and Deaths Registry could take undue advantage of high demands for birth certificates to impo se unlawful fees on applicants, Mr. Cato assured prospective passport processors that all relevant agencies would be working in concert to ensu re that no Ghanaian was given any raw deal.

Mr. Seth Aboagye, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Information Officer, urge d the public to hold itself in readiness for the exercise, adding that, no one should engage themselves in any practices that had the potential to tarni sh the national exercise.