Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, is requesting answers from the management of the various passport offices regarding the allegations of bribery, extortion, and corruption.
He claims this is because they lack the necessary leadership to effectively run the organisation.
Mr. Ablakwa stated on JoyNews that the Minister of Foreign Affairs didn’t have to storm the premises to get the job done because there was a Director assigned to oversee how the passport offices operated.
“There is a Director at the Passport Office, a whole Director, so it didn’t have to take the Minister to descend from her Ministry and to engage in that open outburst for the Minister to be dismissing people on site and all of that.
“It tells you that there is something fundamentally wrong, and the leadership at the Passport Office falls short of the leadership requirement you will expect to see for such a sensitive position. The Director of the Passport Office and all those in management must be answering questions,” he said.
Following her visit to the Passport Office on Monday, August 14th, the Minister expressed her shock at the odd procedures applicants must endure as a result of the behaviour of some office employees known widely as goro boys. The Minister was disappointed to learn about this extortion and lack of ethics at the Passport Office, which plays such an important role in making international travel possible.
The Minister regretted that certain government employees are abusing the online application system for their own benefit, hindering efforts to digitally streamline procedures at the Passport Office. She added that employees of the Passport Office should not resort to extortion or other unethical practises.
She urged them to treat applicants with dignity and respect and to observe professional standards at all times. Meanwhile, investigations into the activities of the “goro boys,” who exploit applicants with the help of office staff, continue to make progress.
The Minister emphasised that it is impossible for these outside players to function without the assistance of some within the Passport Office. She said that those involved would be held legally accountable to serve as a caution to others.
However, the MP for North Tongu stated that an investigation must be conducted before the implementation of the minister’s directive.
He thinks that doing so will protect innocent workers from harm. “If care is not taken, innocent people could be caught in the frame, so I will still urge that it will be necessary for a disciplinary committee to still carry out some independent investigation into the role of those the Minister met.
“Are we sure that all of them are involved in all of these underhand dealings, briberies, corruption and all the untoward conduct that the Minister is angry about?” he questioned.
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