Passport regime needs reform - Ablakwa says at vetting

The Minister designate for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has stressed the need to reform and modernise Ghana’s passport office and passport acquisition processes to make them more responsive to the needs of Ghanaians.

He said such reforms would address the “too many complaints about how difficult it is for Ghanaians to get the passport in good time”.

“Going through some briefs at the ministry, I have noticed that there are a backlog of over 70,000 passports that have not been collected,” he said, recalling how his predecessor, Shirely Ayorkor Botchwey, stormed the passport office in frustration as she complained that “this crisis cannot continue”.

Technology

Appearing before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for his confirmation hearing last Friday, Mr Ablakwa said he would use technology to reform the passport regime, stressing that “I do not think that we should still be requiring Ghanaians who have the Ghana Card to go to the passport office for their biometrics.

“I will want to engage the Ministry of Communications, and I have already started talks with the minister (designate), Sam George, so that you do not need to go to the passport application centre if you have a Ghana Card

“We should be able to interface, and it should be possible to sit at home, apply for your passport, and I want to also end this outmoded business of going back to the passport office for your passport.

“We can engage courier services to send your passport to you at home or in the office.

So, modernising the whole passport regime as we move from the current biometric to the chip embedded passport will be a matter of importance to me,” he said.

The nominee gave this assurance when he responded to a question by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, who sought to know what would be some of his priority areas once approved by Parliament.

Reforming foreign missions

The former Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament further pledged to reform Ghana’s foreign service by introducing a department that would focus on the delivery unit.

He said he would give clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to Ghana’s ambassadors and high commissioners to pursue aggressive economic diplomacy.

He explained that given the current global ecosystem, no country could be relying on aid, loans and other countries, a reason “we must aggressively pursue economic diplomacy”.

“When we send you there as ambassador, it is not just to be attending events, but you must bring us something home that will impact the lives of the people such as how many investors, industries, foreign direct investment and all of that,” he said.

The nominee explained that per last year’s budget for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, more than GH₵875 million was spent on Ghana’s foreign service staff alone.

“That is almost a billion, and you ask yourself these 71 missions out there what are they bringing in, and that is why many think that Foreign Affairs is removed and abstract.

“We are going to change that perception with clear KPIs. If within one year we are not seeing benefits, you will be reshuffled so that we will send in ambassadors who will be more dynamic and proactive in our national interest,” he said. 

Economic diplomacy

The New Patriotic Party MP for Bosome Freho, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, asked the nominee what would be the position of the NDC government on the mass movement of Ghanaians to the United Arab Emirates and other countries to seek greener pastures but who were abused.

Mr Ablakwa said the abuses of Ghanaians outside was a matter he was very passionate about.

He said one of the priority areas the President had tasked him to work on was how the Foreign Ministry was repositioning itself to resolve the unemployment crisis in the country.

He explained that per Ghana Statistical Service, unemployment had moved from about 8.6 per cent in 2016 to 14.7 per cent currently.  

“We need to make sure that this migration that is going on because of the search for employment is regulated so it benefits our country and is a win-win situation.

“Countries like Cuba and Indonesia, because of their strategic foreign policy and signing bilateral agreement with other countries, have been able to export labour, and so their citizens are well catered for, with their rights protected and a portion of the revenue goes back to the country and others go to the workers,” he said.

Under his leadership, he said he would seek to aggressively pursue economic policy in a way that allowed bilateral agreements to be signed with nations that were looking for Ghanaian nurses, teachers, artisans and other professionals in the domestic settings.

“We can take advantage of that to solve our unemployment crisis and to also regulate the space so that what is happening in the Gulf to some of our  compatriots is addressed.

“When these receiving countries know that the labour they have received is not from some clandestine agencies engaged in some human trafficking operation, they will be mindful in how they treat these workers,” he said.

With such priority, Mr Ablakwa said, “we can make brain drain become brain gain where these bilateral agreements will help create jobs for our people”.