Private Legal Practitioner, Esq. Martin Kpebu has alleged that the Parliament of Ghana is weak, arguing that recent research has revealed that the Parliament ranks last among the three arms of government in Ghana; the Executive however, performed better than the Parliament.
He indicated that the is not enough for Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to seek approval from Parliament concerning the increment in passport charges. He stated that as Parliament is feeble, the right step the Ministry should have taken was to engage the public directly.
“Parliament is weak, the Speaker himself has said it… You should engage the citizens first. I expected the Minister to have done a stakeholders’ conference…and tell people to bring memoranda, then we will have a national dialogue, then people will make an input… That’s bad governance, let the people participate”.
Esq. Martin Kpebu
Furthermore, he argued that the Ministry’s argument that Ghana’s charges are far behind that of its neighbors in the sub-region, Nigeria, Togo, Ivory Coast etcetera, hence the justification for increment is not substantive.
He argued that the Ministry failed to make a detailed analysis of the economies of these countries, indicating that the Ministry’s remark is out of context. “For example, VAT is far cheaper in Nigeria, you see how our [Ghana’s] VAT is killing businesses”, he added.
As such, Esq. Martin Kpebu advised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reverse the increment on the passport charges and have a dialogue with the public for its input to be considered in structuring new charges. “This is a very bad policy. It is poor logic, poor judgment” he added.
He argued that the new increment in passport charges is a form of taxation to make up for the loss in the country incurred due to the government’s mismanagement of the economy. He indicated that an increment not exceeding 100% would have been acceptable.
“As I said, let’s look at those countries we are talking about in the sub-region. Isn’t Cote d’Ivoire doing better than us? The Minister has to know, Cote d’Ivoire has 41 ministers, better inflation rates” Martin Kpebu noted.
Unemployment And National Security
Moreover, Esq. Martin Kpebu indicated that the increment in passport charges stifles the ambition of the unemployed youth to pursue greener pastures outside the country, as most do not have the resources to acquire a passport.
He argued that the level of unemployment in the country is a security concern that must be addressed swiftly. “We know unemployment is a ticking time bomb, it’s bringing us the Arab Spring but we are playing ostrich” he added.
Esq. Martin Kpebu opined that there is a possibility for passports to be granted without cost to Ghanaians if the country’s economy is managed well.
Also, he indicated that due to Ghana’s collapsing health sector, there has been an increase in health tourism as Ghanaians are traveling out to seek healthcare outside the country.
He argued that the increment in the passport application charges only further burdens people who are already burdened with the cost of seeking healthcare outside of the country.
“You call this privilege? The meaning of what Appiah Kubi is saying then is that ‘Yes then die, die’. If I have to borrow or take my savings to go and seek medical care abroad, you are increasing the cost so you make it more difficult for me. If your government had run proper hospitals, if you had put in infrastructure and so many things, we would not need to travel”.
Esq. Martin Kpebu
He noted that traveling outside the country to get medical care is a result of bad governance that has plagued the country under the current NPP administration.
Conclusively, Esq. Martin Kpebu indicated that the increment in fees affects education too, as it makes it difficult for fresh graduates especially to further their education abroad.
He noted that because some of the courses offered in foreign universities are not offered in Ghana, it becomes imperative for some individuals to pursue further education abroad.
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