Staff Reporter
…… as Govt is set to clear passport backlog by year end
The Government has committed itself to clearing the passport backlog by December this year after employing various interventions aimed at boosting passport production in the country.
Briefing the media after the 37th Cabinet meeting yesterday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa, said the passport backlog has been reduced to 184 000 which would be cleared before year end.
“The nation will recall that during its Ninth Meeting, Cabinet approved a strategy by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage to clear the country’s passport backlog that had accumulated to over 400 000 by August 2020. It is pleasing to note that the backlog has since been reduced to the current 184 000. It is anticipated that the backlog would have been cleared by the end of December 2021,”said Minister Mutsvangwa.
The Minister said that it is anticipated that the cost of passports in the country will greatly be reduced following Government’s interventions of making identification and travelling documents easily accessible to every citizen.
Minister Mutsvangwa further informed that the implementation of a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Agreement with Garsu Pasaulis, a Lithuanian Company on an e-Passport Production Project, is well on course with the aim of boosting production of passports, identification cards and birth certificates.
The Minister said that the design of the Zimbabwean e-passport which will be fully compliant with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation was already approved. She added that renovations at the Harare Passport Enrolment Centre commenced on 18 October 2021 and renovations at the Bulawayo Passport Enrolment Centre will commence on the 27th of this month.
Last week, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Mr Aaron Nhepera, said that Government had purchased consumables required in passports, national identification cards and birth certificates production, with delivery of the same being expected the first week of next month.
Meanwhile, the mobile registration exercise meant to issue identification documents to people in Bikita, Tsholotsho and Bulilima Districts came to an end last week, with a total of 10 685 national identification cards and 8 250 birth certificates having been issued.
