Foreign Affairs Ministry begins home Passport delivery

In a significant move to streamline passport acquisition in Ghana, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially rolled out a home and office passport delivery service for applicants.

The initiative, which took effect on Friday, May 9, is being led by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. It is part of a strategic partnership with Ghana Post and local delivery company Troskit, aiming to ensure that applicants receive their passports within 15 days of application.

Speaking to the media about the reform, Minister Ablakwa said the new service is designed to address longstanding issues, including bureaucratic delays and interference by middlemen, commonly known as “goro boys.”

“Ghanaian passport applicants are no longer required to go back to the passport application centre for their passports. We have introduced peculiar services, making sure that passports are delivered to the comfort of the homes or offices of applicants,” he said.

He further revealed that the passport office now operates 24 hours a day in line with President Mahama’s vision of establishing a 24-hour economy.

“The passport office, you may also have heard, is now operating 24 hours in line with President Mahama’s vision of launching Ghana into a new era of the 24-hour economy. We have also introduced e-tracking to allow passport applicants to follow the process right from application to delivery,” Ablakwa explained.

“We are doing all these reforms to make sure that we do away with bottlenecks and end that phenomenon of goro boys middlemen taking advantage of the bureaucracy and delay in the passport acquisition process,” he added.