Price of ordinary passport booklet reduced from GH₵500 to GH₵350 – Ablakwa
Speaking on the floor of Parliament House on Thursday, March 13, the North Tongu legislator Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insisted that the reduction is expected to lift a burden on the Ghanaian people and will not come at a cost to the state.
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is seeking an urgent amendment to the Fees and Charges Act to reduce the price of the ordinary passport booklet from GH₵500 to GH₵350.
The price for the 32-page passport booklet was increased from 100 cedis to 500 under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government to cater for printing the booklet.
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The NDC in opposition at the time labeled the hike as inconsiderate and promised a review should they win the 2024 general elections.
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Speaking on the floor of Parliament House on Thursday, March 13, the North Tongu legislator Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insisted that the reduction is expected to lift a burden on the Ghanaian people and will not come at a cost to the state.
“In our effort to make passports more accessible to all Ghanaians, and per instructions I have received from His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, we are pleased to announce the reduction of the ordinary passport booklet, that is the 32-page booklet from the GH₵500 to GH₵350,” he said.
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He said his outfit will shortly be in Parliament to undergo the needed legislative procedures to ensure that “this reduction is approved”.
Mr Ablakwa also hinted that a committee would be set up to review efforts to phase out the current booklet and replace it with chip-embedded copies. The move towards a chip-embedded passport booklet was initiated by the previous administration.
Listen to his presentation in Parliament in the audio below.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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