What would prompt an individual to undergo the process of obtaining a passport, only to later refuse to retrieve it? This perplexing question arises as a substantial total of eighty-six thousand passports remain unclaimed at various passport application centers nationwide.
This revelation was made by Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Marfo, during a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Among this figure, the Greater Accra Region accounts for 19,500 uncollected passports, Cape Coast for 8,696, and Takoradi for 8,000 as of June 2024.
Senior Government Advisor on Public Sector Reforms, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, while providing an update on the government project under the National Public Sector Reform Strategy after four years of implementation, expressed dismay over the financial implications of these unclaimed passports.
“People are so anxious, and do everything they can to get a passport. After we’ve gone through processes to produce the passports, they don’t come to collect. And because we subsidize the production of these passports; we are printing them for people at about four dollars when we should be printing them for about a hundred dollars. So, it means the subsidy of all these passports is locked up capital of government.” – he bemoaned.
Additionally, Mr. Osafo-Maafo noted that “there must be some research and I think one of our investors should find out why are people so anxious to access passports, but when completed they don’t come to collect. What must have been the reason?”
The Director of Passport Services at the Head Office, Mr. Paul Kwaw Kudjo, advised the general public against engaging intermediaries in the process of obtaining their passports. He recommended that individuals facing difficulties seek assistance from either the client service unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the client service units at all passport application centers nationwide.
Mr. Kwaw Kudjo emphasized the importance of approaching the relevant authorities directly.
“Just walk in. The problem of the Ghanaian is trying to use another person. This is not about whether you are educated or not. When you get to the passport office, tell the security men, usually they are police or military men or national security operatives, tell them these are my issues. They will direct you where to go. Go to the right source and seek the right information and support.” Mr. Kwaw Kudjo asserted at the same press briefing event.
