Over 86,000 passports remain uncollected at the Passport Office, according to Senior Government Advisor on Public Sector Reforms, Yaw Osafo-Maafo. Speaking at a Meet-the-Press series in Accra, Osafo-Maafo attributed the issue to the use of middlemen by applicants, resulting in inaccurate contact information.
“Some applicants use middlemen to complete the passport application form, so if you call, the numbers they provide on the forms do not go through,” he explained.
Osafo-Maafo emphasized the need for a robust system to capture reliable data on applicants, enabling the use of courier services for passport delivery. “What we need to do is to ensure that we build a strong system that can capture reliable data of passport applicants so that the passports can be delivered through courier services to them for a fee,” he said.
The Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP), implemented from 2019-2023, aimed to improve efficiency and accountability in service delivery. The project saw significant improvements in biodata capturing at the Passport Office, processing over 700,000 passport applications since August 2023.
Osafo-Maafo highlighted the project’s achievements, including the establishment of modern video conferencing facilities at the Public Services Commission and the Office of the Head of Civil Service, and the clearance of over 14,000 staff promotion backlogs since 2021.
