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General news for Sunday, November 15, 2020
Source: The Herald
2020-11-15
President Akufo-Addo and Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey commission the building
President Akufo-Addo held a commissioning ceremony for an ultra-modern passport office on Friday in Accra.
In a short speech, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo praised the Minister of the “dynamic” Sector, Ayorkor Botchwey, for her contribution to the construction and completion of the building.
He was impressed with the Minister’s work in ensuring the transformation of the operations of the Ministry’s branch office and uncovering innovative ways of acquiring passports.
In what seemed like clear approval and appreciation of the minister’s work during the term, the president turned to her and said in the ga dialect, “You have done well.”
The luxurious head office located on Gamel Abdul Nasser Avenue in Ridge, near the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and the British High Commission, is a purpose-built three-level building, with ancillary facilities such as a meeting room, a cafe for staff and a well-structured filing and recording room, among others.
The new building is expected to provide the most conducive and conducive environment for both staff and potential applicants.
Passport acquisition has been facilitated and brought to Ghana’s doorstep, following the establishment of passport application centers in some regional capitals, namely Kumasi, Tamale, Koforidua, Tema Hope, Takoradi and Sunyani, as well as Premium Passport Application Centers (PAC) in Accra and Kumasi to provide fast services.
There are also processes to renew all existing regional passport application centers, to renew them and improve service delivery.
Two more PACs will soon be commissioned in the Midwest capital Cape Coast and Wa in the Upper West region. The two events that will take place in the next few days will also include a new Premium Center in Tamale.
The Ministry has already extended biometric passport services to Ghana’s Diplomatic Missions abroad, so a total of 22 of those Missions will start issuing biometric passports by the second quarter of next year, 2021.
In a speech, Sector Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said that the commissioning of the office is the result of critical reforms and interventions taken by the Akufo-Addo government to significantly transform the operations of the Passport Office.
Continual transformation has helped eliminate the business of middlemen notoriously known as goro boys, who until recently paraded around the Office looking for desperate applicants to do business with at exorbitant fees.
“We have successfully implemented the online passport application system, thus eliminating the manual application system, which until now was the norm.
These interventions have eliminated all the difficulties associated with acquiring passports, in particular the response time for the delivery of passports, document fraud and the intermediaries popularly known as goro boys. “
Madam Botchwey, was particularly concerned about the security and integrity attached to the Ghanaian passport, saying that it is the responsibility of every citizen to monitor the passport application process and not give in to certain unscrupulous people who plan to undermine the integrity of the document.
“We need the cooperation and support of all stakeholders to protect the sanctity of our passports.” She admonished the management of the new office to preserve and maintain it properly having invested scarce resources in its establishment.
He expressed immense gratitude to the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei Opare, who played an important role in the allocation of the site and its redevelopment and also to the Consultants, Architectural and Engineering Services Limited and some others.
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