Dep. Foreign Affairs Minister Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong said the new passport application fees were the result of years of people paying the lowest for processing.
No Serious Business Will Buy Something For GHC400 And Sell It For GHC100 – Dep. Foreign Affairs Minister
He said Ghanaians have now been paying impossible passport processing fees for years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on April 1, announced an increase in application fees for all categories of passports.
The fee hike has resulted in the upgrade of the 32-page pass from GHC100 to GHC500 and GHC644 to the standard 48-page pass, effective today, Monday 1 April 2024.
Similarly, candidates opting for the 32-page fast process will pay GHC700 and GHC800 respectively for the 48-page fast process.
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An increase of more than 500% has caused public concern ever since, with the minority in Congress threatening to “introduce a plan to review the new taxes” when the House resumes recess.
However, Ampratwum-Sarpong, in an interview with JoyNews, stressed that the ministry should introduce a “sustainable and realistic market” that would cover the cost of processing a passport.
“It costs GHC400 to produce the 32-page passport, and all this time we were selling it at GHC100, which is highly subsidized,” he said, adding: “No mainstream business would do that, you buy something for GHC400 and you come and sell it.” for GHC100 makes no sense.”
He pointed out that the increase “has been on the table for a long time”, but many ministers have shied away from implementing the revised prices.
He then described the current government’s decision to increase taxes as “courageous” to ensure that people pay real fees for obtaining passports, stressing that Ghana’s cost of obtaining a passport is the lowest throughout the subdivision.