Accra, June 18, 2025 – The Member of Parliament for the Okaikwei Central Constituency, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah, has questioned the narrative surrounding the reduction of passport fees in Ghana, insisting that the Minister for Foreign Affairs did not have the authority to implement such a move unilaterally.
Speaking to members of the Parliamentary Press Corps after the Foreign Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, appeared before the House to respond to urgent questions and provide updates on the Washington D.C. Mission scandal, Hon. Boamah said the Minister’s responses had only confirmed what the Minority had previously asserted.
“I said the other time that the Minister did not have the authorization to unilaterally reduce passport prices. From the answers he gave today, it confirms that passport prices have not been reduced,” Hon. Boamah stated. “He is now going to come to Parliament in August when the Finance Minister presents the new fees and charges legislation.”
He emphasized that the impression created earlier—that passport fees had already been reduced—was misleading. “It still remains a pledge of the government, not an implemented policy. We must make it clear to the Ghanaian public not to be carried away.”
According to the MP, any decision to reduce or increase passport fees must be backed by legislation and fall within the government’s overall revenue projections as determined by the Finance Minister.
“Ghanaians are patiently waiting,” he added. “We all hope for life and good health by August so we can see whether the Minister will follow through.”
Minority Endorses Anti-Corruption Moves but Seeks Clarity on Recruitment Timeline
Hon. Boamah also weighed in on the ongoing investigations into the multi-million-dollar corruption scandal at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C., where a locally recruited staff member, Fred Kwarteng, allegedly ran an unauthorized enterprise for visa and passport services.
While acknowledging that the investigations were ongoing, he noted that the Minority supports efforts to weed out corruption within Ghana’s foreign missions. However, he clarified misconceptions surrounding the staff recruitment timeline.
“Our ranking member put it on record that the said individual had engagements with the embassy as far back as 2013, not just during the NPP administration,” he pointed out, adding that while political affiliation should not shield wrongdoers, context matters.
“We support the Minister’s approach to get rid of any miscreants within our missions abroad. That, we support,” he concluded.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
