Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel A. Jinapor, has stated that the majority of the work towards the rollout of Ghana’s chip-embedded passport was undertaken during the previous Nana Addo-led administration.
He clarified that the mass rollout of Ghana’s chip-embedded passport is the result of years of strategic planning, procurement, and execution by the previous government.
The lawmaker in a press release issued on May 6, 2025, described the relaunch of the initiative by the current administration as “unnecessary” and a misrepresentation of the facts.
He also detailed what he described as timeline and policy actions that led to the development and successful launch of the chip-embedded biometric passport programme.
“Every essential aspect of the chip-embedded passport programme, from policy formulation to contract execution and logistical delivery, was meticulously completed by the Akufo-Addo Government before it was handed over on 7th January 2025,” he said.
The former Lands and Natural Resources Minister explained that the project was designed from the 2013 ICAO TRIP Strategy, which mandates the adoption of electronic travel documents.
He also stated that although discussions for the initiative started under previous governments, it was the Akufo-Addo administration that implemented it.
According to him, by December 2, 2024, the chip-embedded passports had been officially launched by then-President Akufo-Addo.
High-ranking officials were issued the first batch, and at the time, 50,000 booklets were already in stock, with 200,000 more ordered—positioning the project for a seamless nationwide rollout, he claimed.
“It is, therefore, through the hard work and dedication of the Akufo-Addo government… that has led to Ghana issuing electronic chip-embedded passports,” Jinapor stated, urging the current government to “focus on the effective distribution and roll-out” rather than claiming credit.
