The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, commissioned a satellite mobile Passport Application Centre, the first of its kind in Ghana’s Hajj history, at the Hajj village in Accra on Tuesday, 4th March 2025, to facilitate the Passport acquisition process for Hajj Pilgrims. This is the first of its kind in Ghana’s participation in the Hajj

In attendance were the Chairman of the Hajj Board, Hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda, Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini, Members of the Hajj Task Force, the Director of Passports, Mr. Kwasi Asante, senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hajj agents, the media, and some members of the Muslim community.

Addressing the gathering, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, (MP) expressed profound appreciation to the President of the Republic, H. E. John Dramani Mahama, for the decision to process passports for Hajj pilgrims at the Hajj Village to ease the hitherto cumbersome process of acquiring passports for the Hajj.

The Minister indicated that pilgrims in other regions of Ghana were there are Passport Application Centres were not left out as dedicated “Hajj Booths” have been instituted in all the regional passport offices to serve them.

He mentioned that the passports would be issued within three (3) days after they satisfy the requirements and go through the application process, indicating that the service was not coming at an extra cost.

He further used the opportunity to enumerate the Government’s plans for passport reforms which included a 24-hour passport processing system and the introduction of passport delivery to clients.

He indicated that these measures when implemented would assist in the elimination of middlemen (goro boys) as well as offer efficient and convenient services to the public.

The Director of the Passports, Mr. Kwasi Asante, in his remarks, described the urgency with which the Minister for Foreign Affairs implemented the Satellite Passport Application Centre at the Hajj Village for this year’s pilgrimage as unprecedented, praising his ingenuity.

The Chairman of the Hajj Task Force, Hon. Alhaji Collins Dauda, extended the profound gratitude of the Muslim community and the Hajj Board to the President of the Republic and the Minister for Foreign Affairs for this initiative, which would curb the hectic process of acquiring passports during the Hajj period.

In his remarks, the representative of the Hajj Travel Agents, Alhaji Ashkar, after expressing gratitude to the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the initiative, indicated that this was the first time that a Foreign Minister had visited the Hajj Village.

He, however, expressed dismay at the struggles encountered by some of the pilgrims who are of the Fula and Zamrama tribes in connection with the determination of their nationality. Secondly, he lamented about the strike action by the Births and Deaths department, which is affecting the passport application process and inquired whether the Ghana Card could be used instead.