Ghana Passport Office Considering Legalising Activities Of Goro Boys: "Avenue For Job Creation"
- The Passport Office is consulting with stakeholders to consider formalising the role of middlemen popularly known as goro boys.
- The Director of the Passport Office Headquarters said this was part of an ongoing World Bank project
- The office has conceded that it has been unable to crack down on the activities of the goro boys
The Passport Office is consulting to possibly formalise the role of middlemen popularly known as goro boys in the passport application process.
The Director of the Passport Office Headquarters, Paul Cudjoe, said there had been no progress in cracking down on the goro boys.
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Cudjoe told Channel One News that as part of an ongoing World Bank project, presidential advisors are submitting such a proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This proposal aims to learn from other countries that have successfully integrated intermediaries into their passport application processes.
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He noted that other countries had middlemen who had been integrated into such processes.
"But let me tell you, as part of this World Bank project, they travelled to Mexico, Canada, and Kenya, and these middlemen are all there, but they have been formalised and integrated."
Cudjoe also noted that formalising the goro boys was a form of job creation.
The passport office recently saw major reforms in application fees.
The standard application fee for 32 pages has gone from GH¢100 to GH¢500 while the expedited application fee for 32 pages has gone from GH¢100 to GH¢640.
The fee for the 48-page application has gone from GH¢150 to GH¢644, while the expedited fee is now GH¢800.
The Passport Office further revealed concerns with low patronage of passport applications by Ghanaians following the price hike.
Minister fumes over corruption at Accra passport office
YEN.com.gh reported that foreign affairs minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey lamented the continued corruption at the passport office in Accra.
The minister relieved all staff seconded to the office to clean up the system.
Botchwey has also said there will be an investigation into personnel conduct at the passport office in Accra.
Such issues at the passport office have been noted, like when a man recounted that he was made to wait in a queue or pay a token of GH¢85 to be served instantly.
A lady came out to explain that this service may not be as bad as it sounds because it is normal for people to pay for convenience. The man declined the woman's offer.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
