Yesterday, we carried a story about the proposal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to increase passport application fees from the current GH¢100 to GH¢644, which is a 544-per cent increment.
We have taken note of all the explanation given, yet we find parts of it very unfortunate.
For instance, we find it unfortunate Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, comparing the passport fees paid in Ghana to those in other West Africa countries and concluding that Ghanaians pay less and so “it is time for Ghanaians to pay realistic prices for passports they acquire to travel beginning next year.”
Her comment seems to suggest that the move is concluded as she was bold enough to state the effective time, next year, which we can interpret to be any date from January 1, 2024.
When state officials speak like this, the impression is that no other authority can cause them to change their decision(s) or proposal(s).
Why did she not compare the services given to passport applicants in places like Cameroun and Burkina Faso to those offered in Ghana?
Besides, is the minister or the ministry telling Ghanaians that passport application fees in those countries were arrived at the way the ministry wants to do it in Ghana?
Much as we are not against increment in the fees, we think the hike is too outrageous and shocking – from GH¢100 to GH¢644, which is a 544-per cent increment.
We think the increment should be gradual and at a certain regular interval till the point when full-cost recovery could be achieved and we take it from there to ensure sanity, going forward.
While this is done, it should be possible for Ghanaians to enjoy seamless services to the extent that the human interface in the process should be possible only when it is really necessary.
Currently, we talk about digitalising the process, yet it is an open secret that most applicants have to see middlemen to be able to acquire the passport.
We know ministry officials would deny this but it is happening and so we would like them to take note and plug all loopholes so that applicants would not be frustrated to force them to pay unofficial fees in the passport acquisition process.
One other issue we have exception to is that the passport no longer serves as a primary identification document for Ghanaians, so only those who need it to travel must acquire it and that those not in a hurry to embark on any international travel should not go for it.
Elsewhere, every citizen applies for the passport no matter whether he or she is travelling soon or not or not travelling at all.
The advice sounds prudent but that is not at issue; the problem has to do with the hike in the passport application fees.
The hike has implications not only for passport applicants but also the Ghanaian consumers as a whole.
If the government can just wake up and increase the charges for a product or service by 544 per cent, claiming all manner of explanations to justify it, that government cannot have the moral right to appeal to traders and others to reduce their prices and charges.
At the end of the day, the sufferer or whipping boy is the consumer.
Therefore, we appeal to the Ministry to check the percentage increase in the passport application fees.
