Claim: Several social media posts claim that Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has “secretly” increased passport processing fees from GHC350 to GHC800.
Verdict: False! The price list shared on social media, labelled as new passport fees, is actually the passport fees schedule published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2024.
Full Text
On June 19, 2025, several posts on social media, such as this, this, and this, claimed that Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had “secretly” increased passport processing fees.
One of the posts with an attached flyer and a picture of the minister had the caption: “Hon. Ablakwa’s recent decision to secretly raise the passport fee from GH₵500 to GH₵800, despite his earlier promise to reduce it to GH₵350, is a stark betrayal of public trust. Such actions raise serious questions about his commitment to serving the interests of the people.”
Photo credit: X
The cost of passport processing in Ghana has been a topic of frequent discussion within Ghana’s media space over the last several months, following major pronouncements by both the current National Democratic Congress government and the erstwhile New Patriotic Party government.
For instance, in April 2024, the NPP government increased the passport processing fees by more than 400%, raising the cost of the standard 32-page booklet to GHC500 and the 48-page booklet to GHC644 from the previous fees of GHC100 and GHC150, respectively.
Following the swearing in of the new government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a reduction in the cost of acquiring a passport on May 2, 2025. For instance, the cost of acquiring the 32-page passport booklet was reduced from GHC500 to GHC350 pending parliamentary approval.
The recent claims that the sector minister has secretly hiked prices despite the impending price reduction are curious and, therefore, have prompted this probe.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted thorough internet searches to determine if any credible media outlet had published a story about the purported increase, but none did.
Furthermore, we conducted a Google reverse image search on the image of the price list shared on social media. It turned out that the price list is the same fee schedule that was published in April 2024, when the previous government announced an increase in passport processing fees.
Photo credit: GTV Ghana
DUBAWA, also known as the 24-hour hotline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke to a staff member at the call center. The passport office confirmed that the 32-page passport costs GHC 500 for regular service and GHC 700 for expedited service, which aligns with the fee schedule published in 2024.
“It’s GHC500 for regular service. The expedited service is GHC700,” the call centre confirmed.
Although Mr. Ablakwa announced a reduction in passport fees, Parliament has not yet approved the new fees; hence, the approved 2024 passport processing fee remains in effect.
The price list shared on social media is the old price approved in 2024.
Conclusion
Based on the above, we conclude that the claim that the foreign affairs minister has secretly increased the cost of passport processing is false. The amount circulating on social media is currently a concern. The price reduction promised by the minister is pending parliamentary approval.