Sunyani, Jan. 20, GNA - The Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, on Wednesday urged Ghanaians not to rush to obtain new the biometric passports introduced by the government. He said there was a considerable time frame available for phasing out of the old passports.

Mr Opoku gave the advice at the inauguration of the new biometric passport processing centre in Sunyani. The biometric passport contains personal data in an electronic form including scanned photograph and the finger prints of the applicant. Mr Opoku said the increasing cases of impersonation, identity fraud, forgery and embezzlement among others necessitated the new security features in passport.

He said the processes in acquiring the biometric passport was such that it eliminated the use of middlemen or passport contractors thereby saving time, reducing fraud and costs. Mr Chris Kpodo, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, said Brong-Ahafo Region was one of the six pilot regions to benefit from the biometric centres. The other regions are Ashanti, Greater Accra, Western, Volta and Northern regions. Mr Kpodo said the centre had made provision for expedited service for people who intended to travel at a very short notice. Normal processes in obtaining the passport is GHC 50 and GHC 100 for the expedited service. He paid tribute to ECO-Bank for their continued support and urged officials of the Ghana Immigration Service to avoid delays in the process of issuing new passports to applicants.