President Akufo-Addo inaugurate the Passport Head Office in Accra. Looking on are Mrs. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (left) and Nii Okei Kinka Dowuona VI (2nd left), Osu Mantse
President Akufo-Addo, on Friday, inaugurated a new Passport Head Office at Ridge in Accra to provide improved services in the acquisition and issuance of passports.
The new head office, which is a three level purpose-built edifice, comes with ancillary facilities such as meeting room, cafeteria for staff, and a well-structured records/ archival room among others.
The office is the culmination of positive interventions and reforms undertaken by the government to transform the operations of passport administration in the country.
Commissioning the building, President Akufo-Addo said the Passport Office had been struggling for many years to get an appropriate accommodation “and we can all agree that that appropriate accommodation had been obtained.”
He commended the Foreign Ministry under Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey for spearheading the transformation of passport administration and how she had distinguished herself as the front-liner in Ghana’s diplomacy.
“…We now have a process for obtaining passport that can be done in an objective and transparent manner.”
The President urged management and staff of the office to ensure that the place was well maintained and kept “and the purpose of efficient administration of the passport regime of the country” was achieved.
Ms. Botchwey, MP, said for nearly four years, her office had successfully implemented the online passport application system, which had phased out the manual application.
These interventions, she said, had eliminated the difficulties associated with the acquisition of passports, and had improved the turnout time for delivery.
Acquisition of passports has been improved tremendously with the establishment of passport application centres in Kumasi, Tamale, Ho, Takoradi, Koforidua, Tema and Sunyani, as well as PACS in Accra and Kumasi to expedite services.
The Foreign Minister said they were in the process of giving facelifts to all existing regional PACS to improve service delivery; and said they would soon commission a new PACS in Cape Coast, as well as a new premium centre in Tamale.