Minority to push for the reversal of ‘draconian’ passport application fees – Ablakwa

The Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament and MP for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has served notice that the NDC Minority in Parliament will push for the reversal of the new passport application fees.

He described the new fees as “draconian” in reaction to the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s implementation of the new charges.
In a post on his Facebook profile, he wrote: “I am terribly disappointed in Ghana’s Foreign Ministry for the astronomical increases in passport application fees.
“As my NDC colleagues and I always maintained at the Foreign Affairs Committee, the current economic crisis and unprecedented high cost of living make it untenable to impose these draconian fees.

“We insisted at the Committee that the worst case scenario could be a graduated approach when economic conditions improve, but alas, they ignored our advice and have gone ahead to impose these insensitive rates in one fell swoop.”
“The Ministry should reconsider this inimical action immediately. We shall surely revisit this matter when Parliament resumes from recess,” he stated.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has increased the application fees for passport services from GHC100 to GHC500 for a 32-page standard and GHC644 for a 48-page standard booklet, effective today, Monday, April 1, 2024.
In the same vein, applicants opting for the 32-page expedited service will pay GHC700 and GHC800 for the 48-page expedited service.

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