Ghanaians in US frustrated as embassy stops issuance of passports

Several Ghanaians residing in the USA are frustrated over the inability of the Ghana embassy there to issue out new passports or renew old ones since December last year.

The Ghana embassy in the US has issued a statement since last year explaining that a technical challenge had made it impossible to issue new passports or renew old ones.

“The Passport Office at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, DC, hereby informs applicants for Ghanaian Passports that, due to technical challenges, the issuance of Passports is temporarily on hold with effect from December 2015.

“While we work tirelessly to resolve these challenges, the Embassy takes this opportunity to express our sincere apologies for this inconvenience,” the statement on Ghana’s embassy in the US stated.

But over three months after the technical glitch, the problem is yet to be resolved. Some Ghanaians in the US who want to return home are stranded over the development.

A frustrated Ghanaian citizen, whose passport expired last year and is expected to return to Ghana for an emergency told Starrfmonline.com that she has been to the embassy several times, but officials there are unable to determine when the technical problem can be resolved.

Another furious Ghanaian narrated that he wants to attend a brother’s funeral, but the inability of the embassy in Washington DC to renew his passport means he is likely to miss the funeral.

A source at Ghana’s passport office also told Starrfmonline.com that they also encountered a similar problem which is yet to be fixed. According to the source only one machine is operational at the nation’s passport office leading to delays in issuing out new passports.