Outcry for Passports

Outcry for Passports

By Letwin Mazarura

The Registrar General’s Office has announced that it is issuing emergency passports only due to foreign currency challenges that are still hampering its operations.

The registry offices reopened last week after it had scaled down operations following a spike in Covid-19 infections which forced  President Mnangagwa to impose a Level Four national lockdown.

Last week President Mnangagwa  relaxed lockdown level and regulations to Level Two.

This led to crowding at national registry offices by people seeking national identification documents.

Acting Registrar General Mr Henry Machiri said while his department is now fully operational, it was providing limited services due to shortage of resources.

He said the registry office was not facing any problems with regards to issuing birth certificates.

“When it comes to passports and IDs, it’s unfortunate that there is a different scenario which my minister and permanent secretary have alluded to before. It’s an issue of resources. The materials are not enough. So, we have to limit it so that we look at the urgency. We are serving the most urgent and when we get more resources, we will open up for more citizens to come and get documentation,” said Mr Machiri.

At the moment the registry is only issuing the US$318 emergency passport.

Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe recently said due to foreign currency challenges the registry cannot attend to all the registration demands.

Documentation seekers who were queuing at the passport office last Friday expressed their disgruntlement over challenges they were facing in submitting their applications.

Mr Oliver Khupe from Cowdray suburb said the registry had not made the criteria on who gets served first.

“I came here at 4:55AM just to submit a passport application for my wife. She works in South Africa and has to renew her work permit and without a new passport she won’t. We feel bad because yesterday we were here,” said Mr Khupe.

Another resident, Mr Eugene Ndlovu from Barham Green said he was also queuing to submit forms for his South African based relative.

“ I’m here to submit a form for someone whose passport is about to expire hence they need to regularize their stay in the neighbouring country,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Some of residents intimated that the registry should state the category of people who are being served so that those who are not eligible do not waste time visiting the offices.

Minister Kazembe Kazembe recently said that digital transformation of the Civil Registry Department would be completed by the end of December and will contribute to improved access to national documentation.

Government partnered with a private partner to transform the registry into a modern department and would create a national biometric database for citizens and production of e-passports.

The deal is expected to enable diaspora-based citizens to acquire national documents including passports from where they are based. The country is working to clear a passport backlog of 225 747 passports.