Passport: It is illegal to patronise “goro boys” services – Mr Sargmotey

Mr Moses Sargmotey, the Director of the Eastern Regional Passport Office, says applicants, who patronise the services of agents, by paying extra monies to them for quick services, are perpetuating illegality.

He said those agents, otherwise known as “goro boys” made it difficult to operate a safe institution, and thus advised the public to avoid them.

Mr Sargmotey, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, explained that the process of obtaining a passport was simple and did not necessitate extra charges aside from the application fee.

“You are required to fill an online form and an appointment date will be generated for you to come to the office to capture your biodata, after which the system will generate a collection date for you”, he said.

However, most applicants were hesitant to go through the official process, with reasons such as ” the process takes too long, I don’t have time, I can’t fill the form, among others”

Mr Sargmotey said delays in the printing and distribution of passport booklets may be due to a national issue or the system detecting false information.

He recalled that last year the country was hit by a shortage of passport booklets resulting in a massive backlog to be printed and distributed to applicants.

He explained that it was extremely difficult for the passport office to identify and arrest the “goro boys” because everyone who came there was assumed to be a passport applicant.

To get rid of the “goro boys,” he advised citizens to avoid using their services and deal with the passport office directly.

“My office is always open for applicants to come in and inquire about their passports. Or request for a change of collection date if the stipulated date is farther and the book is needed urgently,” he said.

Ghana has four types of passports: expedited application with 48 pages for GH₵200, expedited application with 32 pages for GH₵150, standard application with 48 pages for GH₵150, and standard application with 32 pages for G₵100.

The printing and distribution of the Ghana passport is expected to take at least a month, but it may take longer depending on the other factors mentioned earlier.