Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Minister for Foreign Affairs
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced that 623 Ghanaians affected by the devastating June 29 floods have qualified for the government’s free passport replacement initiative, aimed at helping victims whose travel documents were damaged or lost during the disaster.
The humanitarian intervention, introduced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seeks to ease the financial burden on flood victims and ensure that the loss of their passports does not affect their employment, education, medical travel, or other essential international engagements.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, July 27, Mr. Ablakwa revealed that the Ministry received 705 applications before the July 17 deadline for the replacement of passports damaged or destroyed by the floods.
According to him, a thorough verification exercise conducted by the Passport Office established that 623 applicants possessed valid passports at the time of the floods and therefore qualified for the free replacement programme.
However, 82 applications were rejected because the affected passports had already expired before the flooding occurred, making them ineligible under the guidelines of the intervention.
“The scheme covers only valid passports, and that is for good reason. We do not want others who are not really victims of the floods to take advantage of this to abuse our modest humanitarian effort,” Mr. Ablakwa explained.
He recalled that the initiative, announced on July 3, 2026, was specifically designed to provide relief to citizens whose passports were lost or damaged during the floods.
“The intervention was introduced to ease the financial burden on affected citizens and ensure that this vital document—passports which may have been lost or damaged—does not disrupt employment, education, medical travel, or other legitimate international engagements,” he added.
Mr. Ablakwa further disclosed that the Passport Office has already processed and printed 200 replacement passports, with 155 beneficiaries having collected their new travel documents.
He noted that the remaining 45 passports are ready for collection by verified applicants and urged affected persons to visit the Passport Office to retrieve them.
The Foreign Affairs Minister assured the public that the Ministry remains committed to processing the remaining eligible applications in phases and will notify successful applicants once their replacement passports are ready for collection.
He emphasised that the passport replacement programme forms part of the government’s broader humanitarian response to the June 29 floods, which caused widespread destruction to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure while disrupting the livelihoods of hundreds of families across several parts of Ghana.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it will continue to support affected citizens and ensure that no eligible victim is denied access to an essential travel document because of the disaster.
