The Minority in Parliament has accused the current government of misleading the public by presenting the rollout of chip-embedded passports as a new initiative, insisting the project was fully executed under the leadership of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
In a statement released on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, and signed by Samuel A. Jinapor, Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Minority described the recent launch of the nationwide rollout as a “purported re-launch” of a completed project.
“It is through the hard work and dedication of the Akufo-Addo Government which oversaw the planning, procurement and execution of the Project that has led to Ghana issuing electronic chip-embedded passports,” the statement said.
The Minority detailed the origins of the project, tracing it back to the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) 2013 directive on electronic Machine Readable Travel Documents (eMRTDs). While initial discussions began in Ghana after the ICAO resolution, the statement noted that tangible progress only occurred after the NPP assumed office in 2017.
The chip-embedded passport initiative, part of the previous administration’s digitalisation agenda, was executed through a Public Private Partnership involving 25th Century Technology Limited and Buck Press Limited. A special purpose vehicle, Biometric Travel Solutions Limited, was created to deliver the project.
The statement recalled that the chip-embedded passports were first officially launched on December 2, 2024, with biometric passports issued to President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and other high-ranking officials. At the time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly had 50,000 booklets in stock and had placed an order for an additional 200,000.
“We urge the current Government to focus on the effective distribution and roll-out of the chip-embedded passport,” the Minority said, “a Project which was fully executed by the Akufo-Addo Government.”
Jinapor criticised what he described as a deliberate distortion of the facts. “The attempts by certain Government officials to distort the narrative and appropriate this far-reaching legacy of the Akufo-Addo Government are both inaccurate and unsupported by the record,” he said.
The Minority further called the re-launch unnecessary and fiscally wasteful. “It serves no functional purpose and constitutes an unnecessary burden on the public purse,” the statement concluded.
The Minority Caucus reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability and pledged to continue defending the integrity of state institutions and Ghana’s democratic record.
