Passport forms no longer for sale

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has announced that,Passport forms are no longer for sale in Ghana effective, 1 November 2018,

The Ministry, in a statement, said the forms can be downloaded on its website in the PDF format.

“The Introduction of the PDF form is part of measures to make passport forms readily accessible to all Ghanaians. This completely eliminates middlemen popularly known as ‘Goro Boys’ whose illegal activities have perpetuated bribery and corrupt activities in the passport acquisition processes. The PDF form will, therefore, replace the old paper-based application form,” the statement said.

Below is the full press statement:

Press Release

Measures to enhance Passport acquisition

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has taken careful note of public concerns regarding Passport acquisition in the country and has therefore resolved as follows:

Passport Forms are NOW FREE– Get your Application Forms Online

A free Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the paper-based (Manual) Passport Application Form has been introduced to applicants on the Ministry’s Portal, Effective Thursday, 1 November 2018.

The Introduction of the PDF Form is part of measures to make Passport Forms readily accessible to all Ghanaians. This completely eliminates middlemen popularly known as ‘Goro Boys’ whose illegal activities have perpetuated bribery and corrupt activities in the passport acquisition processes. The PDF form will, therefore, replace the old paper-based application form.

Steps to follow in accessing the PDF Form;

Visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration website – www.mfa.gov.ghorwww.passports.mfa.gov.gh

Click on the Passport menu

iii. Read instructions and click on download passport forms

Click on make payment and follow steps

A voucher PIN would be instantly sent to the applicant by text message

The PIN should be written on the space provided on the printed form

vii. Submit completed application form with relevant documents to preferred Passport Application Centre for processing

viii.For further information or clarification please call 233 302 738 473

The public is hereby to note that payment of the processing fee for the PDF form can only be made electronically and not through the banks as was done previously. Payment can only be made by mobile money (MTN, Vodafone) and Visa or MasterCard. Application processing fee still remains at Ghc50 for regular and Ghc100 for express.

Additionally, the new PDF application does not replace the already existing online Passport Application System which currently exists only at the Accra Passport Application Centres.

Shortage of Passport Booklets

To forestall the frequent shortage of Passport Booklets, the Ministry is assisting the Passport Office to adopt a number of steps including improvements in procurement. Hopefully, the shortage of Booklets should be a thing of the past.

Inaccurate information

The Ministry, through the Passport Office, has learned that delays in passport processing occur partly as a result of the failure by applicants to provide accurate and verifiable data or information. The ministry, therefore, entreats all applicants to ensure the information they provide on the application form is accurate to ensure speedy processing of passports. Remember that you are responsible for the information included in your application, even if someone else completes it for you. Therefore, providing misleading information with your passport application is punishable by law.

Unclaimed Passports

The Ministry has also noted with concern, the significant number of completed passports which have remained unclaimed for months, others for years. Effective Monday, 5 November 2018 all applicants who applied before 15 September 2018 and have not collected their passports can visitwww.mfa.gov.gh to check the list of uncollected passports and to make plans to claim them from the various Passport application centres. The Ministry is also appealing to Ghanaians to endeavour to apply for a passport when they have a need for it.

The ministry is hopeful that the above measures would restore confidence and help ease the process of passport acquisition henceforth.

Fate of 10 banks in limbo as deadline to meet Ghc400m requirement approaches
Twenty out of the 30 existing universal banks in Ghana have now met the GHS400 million Minimum Capital Requirement of the Bank of Ghana as the 31 December 2018 deadline approaches, Second Deputy Governor Elsie Awadzi has disclosed at a Finance forum in Accra.

“Over 20 banks have met [the minimum capital requirement] or are already there and we have 30 banks, so, the rest, we are meeting them on a daily basis to say: ‘Tell [us] where you are on your capital raising plans’.

“We are confident that they are going to meet [it] but if for some reason they cannot meet and will not merge, well, then that is another matter altogether, but we cannot allow banks that are not well-capitalised to remain in the system after 1 January”.

Banks who fail to meet the new capital requirement will be downgraded to Savings & Loans or Microfinance institutions.

Since August 2017, seven local banks have gone under.

Two of them, UT Bank and Capital Bank, were swallowed by the state-owned GCB Bank.