The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) has designated 12 hotlines and an email to help facilitate passport backlog clearing and receive complaints about mistreatment and extortion.
According to the MFARI, these initiative would help address concerns of extortion and mistreatment meted out to passport applicants at the various Passport Application Centers (PACs) across the country.
The MFARI through two separate statements copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Friday urged all applicants who might suffer any form of mistreatment at the various PACs to report such incidents with the names of the officers and the PAC to the designated phone numbers and email.
The phone numbers and email had been given as "0240913284, 0240793072, 0204552056, 0204552750, 0268049031, 0269794871, 0204551723, 0204551748, 0204551958, 0266810218, 0265140875, 0269354461 and ipab@mfa.gov. gh."
As part of further steps to curb all forms of corruption at the PACs the MFARI said it would ensure that all officers wore name tags.
"The public is thereby advised not to engage any person who is unable to identify themselves with the issued name tags, as they most likely are middlemen, usually referred to as 'goro boys'," the statement stressed.
The MFARI further urged all passport applicants to always use the official channel to acquire their passports and desist from engaging unauthorised persons in the passport application process.
The statement added that passport applications submitted to the regular PACs does not come at an extra cost, however, applicants have the option of submitting their applications to the Premium PACs, which would attract an additional fee of GH¢150.00 payable in cash at the Premium Centres for the use of their service.
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The MFARI reiterated that all officers who had served more than a year at the PACs would be replaced with immediate effect and the Ministry's policy of the yearly rotation at the PACs would be enforced to the letter.
It is recalled that the Minister at the MFARI, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, on Monday ordered the withdrawal of officers on secondment at the Passport Office in Accra.
This follows alleged corruption in and sidestepping of the online passport application processes by such officers, middlemen and unauthorised agents, popularly known as "Goro boys".
She gave the order when she paid an unannounced visit to the Passport Office headquarters to ascertain various complaints about delays in passport acquisition due to manipulation.
BY JESSEL LARTEY
THERSON-COFIE
