Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, has described the recent launch of Ghana’s chip-embedded biometric passport as a complete waste of time and public funds.

Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Wednesday, July 9, the lawmaker criticised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for spending $1.2 million on what he called a redundant initiative.

According to him, the project was already completed and launched under the previous Akufo-Addo government in December 2024.

“The relaunch of the already launched chip-embedded passport, for us, is a total waste of time and resources. We found no significance in it. How do you raise as much as $1.2 million of taxpayers’ money on something like that, sincerely speaking, produces no new result?” Asafo-Adjei queried.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration announced the nationwide roll-out of the upgraded passport system on Monday, April 28. The new features include a transition from biometric to chip-embedded passports, a 24-hour passport processing service, home delivery of passports via courier, an electronic tracking system, and a 30% reduction in passport application fees.

According to the Ministry, the chip-embedded passport contains 175 enhanced security features, significantly higher than the 32 features in the previous version. The new system is also integrated with the National Identification Authority’s database to improve applicant verification.

Despite these upgrades, the Minority in Parliament insists the relaunch was unnecessary and constitutes a financial loss to the state. They argue that all necessary groundwork, including procurement, testing, and an initial roll-out of 50,000 booklets, had already been secured by the previous administration along with a standing supply order of 200,000 additional booklets.

The Minority has, however, demanded accountability for the expenditure and urged the Ministry to provide a breakdown of how the $1.2 million was spent.