Training programme on biometric passports ends

Daily Graphic. Pg 20, Monday, January 18/10

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
A Day's training programme has been organised by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), to educate its regional information officers and commanders on the introduction of the biometric passports next month.
The biometric passports, to be launched on February 3, 2010, will replace the old Machine Readable Passport (MRP) system that was introduced in the country 12 years ago.
Addressing the opening session, Director of Passports, Ms Afua Benneh, said the new passport regime was in compliance with a directive by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for member countries to phase out the use of the MRP by 2015.
The new passport, which will incorporate features such as a watermark paper, holographic foil, invisible and visible features and digital photographs, according to her, has “built-in efficient processing and issuance mechanisms designed to eliminate present frustrations caused by delays and middlemen.
Ms Benneh, however could not give the fees for the acquisition of the new passport, since, according to her, the fees for the new passport, expected to be more expensive than the present one, would need parliamentary approval.
The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Regional Integration (MFA&RI), Mr Lawrence Satuah, called for collaboration from all sectors of the economy to ensure that the new system took off effectively.
He said so far only Accra had been equipped with facilities to issue the new passport, adding that two other centres would be opened in other areas in Accra before similar facilities would established in the regions.
He appealed to prospective applicants to bear with them at this trying moment, saying that the system would be improved to make it more accessible.
A Deputy Director in charge of Operations, GIS, Mr Moses Gyamfi, in an address, called for serious commitment on the part of the regional officers to ensure that the new system took off smoothly.
He called on the officers to package the information that they would receive at the training in a way that people in their respective areas would understand it.
Giving an overview of the implementation of the new system, Mr Martin Quarshie, Deputy Director of Passports, MFA&RI, said the passport would help to guard against foreign nationals acquiring Ghanaian passports and also check against identity fraud and other malfeasance in the acquisition of passport in the country.