Descending on passport office to tackle ‘goro boys’ not sustainable; clear the backlog – Ablakwa to Ayorkor Botchwey

Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has commended the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey for showing readiness to fight corruption in the passport acquisition process.

The Minister during a recent visit to the passport office at the Accra Digital Centre fumed over how some officers are working with middlemen (goro boys) to make money off applicants who express the desire for expedited service.

“When I say illegal activities we all know. Just two days ago the reports in the Daily Guide newspaper that the issue of goro people involved in our passport acquisition process has become rife.

“It is wrong. How can One Hundred Ghana Cedis for standard service to acquire a passport and One Hundred and Fifty Cedis for expedited service be bumped up to GHS2000 and GHS3000, it is wrong,” Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said.

The Minister further stressed that officers who are involved in this process will be fired.

Speaking to Citi News on Tuesday evening on the latest development, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey should be commended.

He, however, argued that the Minister should move beyond just descending on passport officers and address the problem of a backlog of unprinted passports.

“Look, Minister descending that is not a sustainable way forward and so this is not rocket science. We all know what must be done. We met at the committee and when we looked at the matters it was clear that it’s all about the backlog which has to be cleared. So this must be done,” the Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency said.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa further shared that there must be a review of the work of the management in charge of passport services.

He insists that from management to vendor level any section of the acquisition process that is not functioning must be dealt with to ensure the process becomes efficient.

Meanwhile, the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament says the committee will meet in the coming days to discuss how to address the problem at hand.