Sylvester Jude Nii Kpakpo Parker-Allotey had a long spell with internal non-governmental organisations (NGOs) before moving to the Ghana Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a career Foreign Service Officer.

After graduating from the University of Ghana, Legon (BA, Hons, 1978), Mr Parker-Allotey was Secretary-General of the Ghana Catholic Youth Council in 1978 and 1979 and worked for a short while with a shipping company at Tema before taking up appointment (1980-1985) as Africa Regional Coordinator of Pax Romana - the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMC) - based in Nairobi, Kenya. He was Pax Romana's Observer Representative at the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Habitat, both based in Nairobi.

From the Ghana National Catholic Youth Council he was seconded to the National Catholic Secretariat to assist with the establishment of the first Apostolic Nunciature in Ghana.

After five years in Nairobi, Mr Parker-Allotey worked for two years (1985-87) in public relations at the State Construction Corporation before moving on to the Foreign Ministry. He has worked at the Ministry's Information Bureau, Cultural Bureau, Policy Planning and Research Bureau, the Europe Bureau and the Non-Aligned Movement Secretariat. He was seconded to the Pan-African Writers' Association as Director of Administration in 1991 and returned in 1993 to be appointed Acting Director, Finance and Accounts. He was posted to the International Organisations and Conferences Bureau, returning to the Finance and Accounts Bureau as Deputy Director (1995-1996).

He was appointed Acting Director, Policy Planning and Research Bureau (2000-2002), with responsibility for organising training programmes for Ambassadors and High Commissioners Designate.

Mr Parker-Allotey was Counsellor and Head of Chancery, Embassy of Ghana, Tel Aviv (1996-2000), Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ghana, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2005-2006), and Deputy Permanent Representative, Ghana UN Mission, Geneva, (2002-2005).

Sylvester Jude Nii Kpakpo Parker-Allotey, who holds an MA in International Affairs from the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA), has been the Director of Passports at the Ghana Foreign Ministry since September 2006. He is a staunch Catholic, married with two children.

The Passport Office is responsible for the issuance of passports and other travel documents of Ghana.

The Passport Office examines applications and when satisfied with the details issues out passports and other travel documents to applicants. The Passport Office is a multi-sectoral agency and has under its rubric officers from various departments, including Immigration, Police, Military and other security sectors.

Following the commencement of the decentralisation process of acquiring passports and other travel documents in 1986, the Regional Immigration offices were authorised to receive completed application forms from the areas under their jurisdiction and carry out preliminary vetting of the forms before submitting than to the Passport Office, where they are processed and the passports issued.

OBJECTIVES

1. Examine passport application forms received from the Regional Immigration offices, and process them for the issue of passport.

2. Issue all travel documents to Ghanaians and other nationals such as refugees as may be authorized by government.

3. Liaise with other appointed government institutions for the printing and storage of passport booklets and other travel documents.

4. To ensure the security and integrity of Ghanaian passports.

5. Cooperate with other security institutions to retrieve from circula- tions fake or tampered passports, and also have persons which deal in such passports arrested

6. Ensure effective coordination with Ghana Missions abroad for the issue of passports and other travel documents to Ghanaians citizens resident abroad

7. Provide inputs to government policies on passports and ensure their effective implementation.

8. Handle complaints and enquiries from the public and Diplomatic Missions on verification of the authenticity of Ghanaian Passports.

The Passport Office is in the process of upgrading its technology to ensure the continued integrity of the Ghanaian passport, in line with current and future international requirements.