A former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has hit hard against the recent increase in the application fees for passports.

According to him, the high cost of living in the country currently does not make it right for the government to increase the prices of products and services.

“It is not a good time to increase the prices of anything, data is becoming more expensive, and to apply for a passport you have to initiate it online. It will be a bit insensitive to increase the fees of acquiring passports at this moment,” he told journalists on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.

He made these comments after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, announced the government’s decision to increase the fees for passport applications.

He said the move is necessary for the institution to be able to continue giving Ghanaians the best services they desire.

Speaking at a press conference to address issues regarding passports and consular services under the ministry, he explained that, in comparison, Ghana’s rates are way lower than other countries in the sub-region.

He explained that this is beyond the fact that the same supplier provides passports for all these other countries.

“… and even Togo; $40. Supplied by the same supplier who is supplying us with these passports. Ghanaian charges, we charge $8, meaning we are having to subsidize every passport. So, the money to buy the passports is being used to subsidize the passports for Kwaku Manu. Until Kwaku Manu is prepared to pay the realistic passport fees, we will continue to have these problems,” he explained.

Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong further detailed how there are plans to upgrade the types of passports being used in Ghana.

He added that if this is done, it will automatically come with price increments.

“And also, we are thinking of upgrading our passport from the biometric to the chip-embedded. So, the chip-embedded is going to cost more and if we continue sitting at the $8, we’ll continue to have the problems that we are having at the passport office, not what has been done by the officers over there. So, we have to brace ourselves, and when the discussions start, we’ll all have to get the picture that we need to pay the realistic fees to get the kind of service we are expecting,” he explained.

SSD/OGB

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