By Godwill Arthur- Mensah
Accra, March 28, GNA – Ghana’s Parliament on Friday approved a sum of GHS 1, 486, 199, 777 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the implementation of its programmes and activities for the 2025 financial year.
Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while speaking on the floor of Parliament, in Accra, said Ghana spent $15 million every year on its rented properties abroad and thus underscored the need to transition from renting to having its own properties to transact business.
The Minister indicated that part of the budget allocation would be used to pay the GHS 340 million debts it inherited from the previous government.
He added that the price for a 32-page passport booklet would be reduced from GHS 500 to GHS350 to lessen the financial burden of passport applicants.
He said efforts were underway to recruit 100 staff to aid in implementing the 24-hour policy of ensuring 24/7 passport processing and meeting the seven-day delivery target via courier services.
The Minister said it had given the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) three months to present a structural integrity report on the Accra International Conference Centre to determine whether the facility is still fit-for-purpose.
He expressed unhappiness about the 30 per cent budget cut of the Ministry.
He was of the belief that the Ministry’s budget priorities must be always upheld in order to receive sufficient resources to facilitate its activities to attract Foreign Direct investment (FDI) into the country.
The Minister announced plans to open a new Mission in Budapest, Hungary, to serve Ghanaians in that country.
GNA
BM