701 Diplomatic, service passports cancelled - 810 Returned to state
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cancelled 701 diplomatic and service passports due to the holders’ failure to comply with a directive to return the travelling document as the tenure of a new regime kicked in.
The figure includes 341 diplomatic passports and 360 service passports.
Those passports, which were issued by the previous government, are now on a “Stop-List” at all border and entry points and embassies, and will be confiscated if the holders attempt to use them, the ministry said in a statement issued yesterday.
The ministry, however, praised some 407 diplomatic passport holders and 403 service passport holders for complying with the directive to return their documents.
On January 15, this year, the ministry recalled the diplomatic and service passports issued by the previous regime.
The statement added that “all the affected passports have been placed on the Stop-List and shall be confiscated from any person attempting to travel with same”.
Affected persons
The ministry stated that diplomatic and service passports issued to “former ministers and spouses, former Members of Parliament, former members of the Council of State and their spouses, former and retired Justices of the Superior and Lower Courts, former Regional Ministers, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives” are no longer valid for international travels.
Other categories of persons affected by the call are former officers of state institutions, chairpersons and members of boards, officials of the National Cathedral Project, former non-career ambassadors and their dependents, religious and traditional leaders, businessmen, entrepreneurs and former government functionaries.
The statement further stated that “all other persons holding official passports not currently serving in any official capacity for the state, or otherwise holding any position that falls under the requirements of Sections 6 and 7 of the Passports and Travel Certificates Act, 1967 (NLCD 155)” were affected by the directive.
The Office of the President, in a letter issued by the Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, had earlier this year issued a directive to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recall all diplomatic and service passports issued during the last eight years.
This exercise, the presidency said, aligned with the government’s commitment to ensuring the proper use and administration of official travel documents by national and international standards.
It added that the recall was to curb the misuse of the travel document and safeguard the country’s reputation and maintain the integrity of the country’s diplomatic engagements.
The directive called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set a reasonable deadline for all concerned individuals to comply with the recall by January 24, this year, while also urging the ministry to undertake thorough review of all returned passports to ensure that they aligned with the current eligibility criteria.
