Work at the Passport Offices in Accra has been brought to a halt following the inability by officials to print out passport booklets.

Stranded applicants at the Accra office say it is taking almost a month for them to get their passports after the office failed to deliver on the due date.

“I went through the procedure to take my picture to complete the application process. I must admit everything was very fast.

I was told I will get the passport in three weeks only to keep checking and be told it is not ready,” one applicant told Joy News’ Matilda Wemegah.

According to him, his numerous trips to the Passport Office in Accra since January 26 have yielded no result because he is yet to get his passport.

“The chit given me indicated that I was to receive my passport earlier than that…they claim they are out of booklet to print on…I checked the status of it and nothing has judged.

“I was supposed to use the passport in January but because of the delay, I have to reschedule my trip,” he said.

Meanwhile, workers at the Passport office who look on helplessly at the situation blame it on an electrical fault which has been persistent for more than two weeks.

One of them who spoke to Joy News on condition of anonymity said they are facing electrical problems.

“When we went to work, we were told by the IT guys the minor fault, which we experience once in a while in the year, will be fixed in no time.

“But this time around it is affecting us more than the previous times we have experienced it. The situation is really bad, no work is going on; we can’t print and we can’t check the status of applicants,” the source said.

The source said they go to work and close as early as 11 am because there is nothing to do at the office. 

According to the source, only the Tema Station office is able to capture details of applicants, but the Ridge office where the passports are printed is also down.

“Even for those applying at the Tema Station we cannot print any book for them as everything is done at the Ridge office,” the source said.