Passport applicants in the country have been told to boldly go to the Police station and report persons at the passport office who demand bribes from them before processing their applications.
Rumours abound of the existence of a cartel at the facility who demand that applicants pay extra monies before their passports are processed.
The presence of the cartel known as ‘goro boys’ has forced many to abandon their passports at the facility.
A Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) survey in March confirmed that the passport office was the third most corrupt institution in the country after customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
The survey, which was to assess citizen’s understanding of corruption, their perceptions and actual experiences of corruption, show that Ghanaians still perceive the police, political parties and the judiciary as being corrupt.
And this canker which is eating the fabric of Ghanaian society, a Ghanaian living in the United Kingdom, said can be erased if passport applicants begin to report officers who demand bribes from them to the security agencies.
Speaking on Diaspora Parliament on Obaapa Radio in Germany, Lord Adusei Aikins believes without such drastic measures corruption can never be erased from the passport office and the country in general.
“If we should start reporting persons by name who demand bribes at passport office for instance, that would serve a lesson to other people…,” he said.
The Diaspora Parliament is a show on Obaapa Radio which brings together Ghanaians across various European and American countries to discuss topical issues in the Ghanaian media.
“Corruption is eating the fabric of society so start reporting people for engaging in acts of corruption…without this motivation, the special prosecutor will fail…,” he charged.
Report corrupt officers at passport office to Police – Applicants told
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