Gov’t to review procedures in acquiring a Ghanaian passport – Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong
Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong
The Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister-designate, Hon. Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong who doubles as the MP for Mampong Constituency has reinstated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government’s decision to improve and review procedures in acquiring a Ghanaian passport.
Addressing issues at the Parliament’s Appointments Committee, he described as unacceptable the cumbersome procedures applicants go through in acquiring a Ghanaian passport in the country and promised to charge the Passport Office to improve on their services to enhance the turnaround time in passport acquisition.
The Deputy Minister-designate was particularly not enthused about the bureaucracies applicants have to go through to acquire their passports and noted further that the Ministry will do all in its power to make the necessary interventions to ensure efficiency at the Passport Office and also announcing that passport acquisition in the country has been decentralized.
Answering to claims that campaign contributions might have been generating an increasingly deleterious effect on the quality of Ghanaian diplomatic representation overseas who are mostly politicians instead of career diplomats, he said it was time to examine research about political versus career appointments.
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He agreed to suggestions that empowering long-serving career officials ensures that the most experienced officials are influential in the policy process, incentivizes the development of expertise through a career in government service and added that the merit-based system improves performance of the bureaucracy by cultivating valuable expertise.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister-designate, Hon Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong MP for Mampong Constituency in Ashanti Region once served as Ghana’s Deputy High Commissioner to New Delhi, India from 2006 to 2009.
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The well-schooled nominee holds a B/A Hons. degree from the University of Ghana (1980-84), Post Graduate Certificate in Public Policy, University of South Bank, London (1991) and Post Graduate Certificate in Housing Studies/ Estate Management University of Westminster, London (1993/94) .
He also studied for a Post Graduate Diploma in Housing Management, University of Westminster, London (1994-95), M/A (Housing Management), University of Westminster, London, (1995-96) and Post Graduate Certificate in Investment Management, University of London, Birkbeck College (2002-2003).
The President’s nominee is a member of professional bodies including Associate Member-Chartered Institute of Housing (UK), Member-Chartered Management Institute (UK), Member-Chartered Institute of Directors (UK) and Affiliate Member-Institute of Consulting (UK)
