Samuel Abu Jinapor
The Minority Caucus on the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament has condemned the government for the purported launch of the chip-embedded passports.
The Minority criticized the government’s decision, noting that the project already existed, courtesy of former President Akufo-Addo, who implemented it in December 2024.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.
Setting the record straight, the Minority said the record shows that the innovative project, described as ushering in “a new era [of] modernisation, convenience, and deep respect for Ghanaian citizens,” is the result of years of determined leadership, strategic planning, execution, and sustained institutional effort by the Akufo-Addo government.
It detailed that:
“At its thirty-eighth (38th) Session held from 24th September to 4th October, 2013, the Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) adopted the ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (ICAO TRIP) Strategy to, among others, provide a holistic, coherent and coordinated travel identification system, including the design and manufacture of Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs) and electronic MRTDs (eMRTDs), which is a chip-embedded travel document.
“Following the adoption of this Strategy, discussions about issuing chip-embedded passports began in Ghana, but did not yield much results. Upon assuming office in 2017, the Akufo-Addo Government, as part of its digitalisation agenda, took a bold decision to transform the country’s biometric passport system by upgrading the biometric passports to chip-embedded electronic passports as well as provide an integrated online passport application and delivery system.”
They explained that after receiving and reviewing several proposals, the Central Tender Committee, by a letter dated 21st February 2018, granted approval for the Government to engage 25th Century Technology Limited to implement the project under a Design, Build, Finance, Manage, Maintain and Transfer (DBFMMT) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
The model, it added, placed the financing obligations on the developer so as not to overburden the public purse.
“To execute the Project, 25th Century Technology Limited and Buck Press Limited, a reputable service printing outlet with expertise in passport printing, established a special purpose vehicle known as Biometric Travel Solutions Limited.
“After extensive engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the National Security, the Ghana Immigration Service and other international partners, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, under the leadership of Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, on behalf of Government, signed a Public-Private Partnership Agreement with Biometric Travel Solutions Limited to execute the Project.
“Biometric Travel Solutions Limited duly executed the Project, and on Monday, 2nd December 2024, then-President Akufo-Addo officially launched the biometric chip-embedded passport in Accra, where biometric chip-embedded passports were issued to the President, the Vice President, the Chief of Staff, Ministers of State and other dignitaries,” the Minority noted.
According to them, it was necessary to note that through the hard work and dedication of the Akufo-Addo government, the planning, procurement, and execution of the project that led to Ghana issuing electronic chip-embedded passports were achieved.
“Every essential aspect of the chip-embedded passport programme, from policy formulation to contract execution and logistical delivery, was meticulously completed by the Akufo-Addo Government before it handed over on 7th January 2025.”
For this reason, the Minority condemned the commentary surrounding the development that erroneously created the impression that the chip-embedded passport programme was developed and implemented by the current government.
However, they consider the purported re-launch of the project to be “unnecessary” and an attempt by incumbent government officials to distort the narrative and appropriate the far-reaching legacy of the Akufo-Addo government—both inaccurate and unsupported by the record.
“The purported re-launch of the Project that was already completed and ready for roll-out serves no functional purpose and constitutes an unnecessary burden on the public purse,” the Minority affirms.