A staggering 86,000 passports remain uncollected at various application centers across Ghana, raising questions about the motivations behind acquiring a travel document only to abandon it.
Senior Presidential Advisor Yaw Osafo-Marfo revealed this surprising statistic at a press briefing in Accra, highlighting the significant resources invested in producing these passports.
The Greater Accra Region leads with 19,500 uncollected passports, followed by Cape Coast and Takoradi with 8,696 and 8,000 respectively.
Osafo-Marfo expressed frustration over the waste of government subsidies, emphasizing that the production cost per passport is around $100, but the government bears the cost at $4 due to subsidies.
He called for research to understand why individuals eagerly apply for passports only to neglect collecting them.
Meanwhile, Director at Passport Head Office Paul Kwaw Kudjo warned against using middlemen and encouraged applicants to seek assistance directly from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or passport application centers.
The National Public Sector Reform Strategy, launched in 2018, aims to enhance public service delivery, including passport services.
The government urges citizens to take advantage of available resources and support to avoid unnecessary obstacles.
