Passport application reform is meaningless unless it is tied to Birth Certificate reform

Ghana has made tremendous progress in the application and acquisition of passports, thanks to Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who pursued the digitalisation agenda ably pioneered by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia under the previous government.

A feather in Ablakwa’s cap is the significant reduction—about 30 percent—in the cost of passport acquisition, now pegged at GH¢350, as well as the improvement in turnaround time. These reforms have brought enormous relief to many Ghanaians.

Of course, the status quo ante should never have existed in the first place. Why should a Ghanaian struggle to obtain proof of being Ghanaian just to travel? Yet, as usual, what should have been a seamless and efficient process was hijacked by incompetence and obscene corruption among public and civil servants.

The frustration surrounding passport applications prior to the current reforms was largely artificial—created by bureaucrats to make room for extortion.

Otherwise, how does one explain the delays in capturing biometric data and printing a simple booklet, sometimes stretching close to a year? In truth, anyone who refused to grease palms could expect to wait no less than six months. It was a terrible system, and it is refreshing to see technology and stricter oversight finally dismantling it.

However, the problem is far from over, as the title of this article suggests. This is because the current passport reforms only benefit people who already have birth certificates—the primary document required for a passport.

Without a birth certificate, one cannot obtain a passport. In this sense, the birth certificate is the real gatekeeper. Yet obtaining one in Ghana is so frustrating that it raises a troubling question: why should it be so difficult for a person born in Ghana to prove that they were born?

Workers at the Births and Deaths Registry have exploited the importance of birth certificates and turned the process into an extortion buffet. Ghana’s problems operate like Tom and Jerry—solve one problem, and another emerges elsewhere in the system.

If obtaining a passport is the goal, then the entire pipeline leading to it should have been reformed. Passport reform should have included everything from the very beginning—starting with the birth certificate.

Consider the absurdity of the current system. You are born in Ghana. You are alive. You exist. You can be seen and identified. Yet you are told you have no valid proof that you were born. Or worse, the proof you have does not meet the “institutional threshold.”

At birth, a child is issued a paper as initial evidence of birth. But that is not enough. One must separately apply for a so-called biometric birth certificate. And anyone who has gone through that process knows how stressful and corrupt it is. In practice, it is nearly impossible to obtain it without paying bribes. Absurd? Ridiculous? Yes—this is Ghana.

We must therefore overhaul the Births and Deaths Registry, which has become an outdated and corrupt institution. It must be fully digitalised and streamlined. Anyone born in Ghana should automatically receive a valid birth certificate without stress, bribery, or middlemen.

Ghana must grow holistically—not in bits and pieces. Authorities must not celebrate success at the Passport Office while ignoring the rest of the system. One broken link can cripple the entire chain.