”There would be more passport booklets in stock by mid October” – Foreign Affairs Minister

Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has assured the public that the Ministry is working round the clock to address the shortage of passports.

This comes after reports by applicants of a nationwide shortage in passport booklets.

According to her, more passport booklets will be available by “the middle of this month – October, in about a week” to clear the backlog.

She added that by the end of October 2022, about 300,000 booklets will come into the country that will cater to applicants into the first quarter of next year.

The Minister explained that the shortage was necessitated by the process involved in acquiring the booklet.

“From what we have experienced today in interacting with the applicants … the issue is the collection of the booklet.

“Some go back many months and I wanted to see this for myself and I have seen it and we will make sure that as soon as the booklet comes, we will work day and night to print all the backlog, clear the backlog so that those who want to travel can do so,” she said.

Madam Botchwey however urged applicants with emergency cases to inform the officials in charge since provisions have been made for such exceptions.

“We have some booklet there but it is not enough to cover the full backlog that we have which is why we are not rushing that we put out weekly of a certain number until God willing around the 13^th when we receive enough,” she said in an interview with Joy News monitored by The Ghana Report.

She added that the Ministry “continue to seek the welfare of applicants to ensure that they get a good service.”