THE backlog in the issuing of passports in the country has
ballooned to 370 000 from around 340 000 last month as the Registrar-General’s
Office is only able to process just 750 per day, an official has revealed.
Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango told Sunday News on
the sidelines of Civil Registration and Vital Statistic (CRVS) Day held in
Bulawayo yesterday that lack of foreign currency remained the major challenge.
“The Department is currently hamstrung by the shortage of
essential passport production materials which is imported and requires foreign
currency and it is also public knowledge that foreign currency is scarce in the
country and is affecting not only the department but many other sectors in the
country. At the moment we are doing 750 passports a day and these are mainly on
urgent basis and also on first come first serve and we have a backlog of over
370 000 passport applications,” he said.
Mr Masango acknowledged that the department needed to clear
the backlog as soon as funding is availed.
“We are also aware that there is a backlog that we have to
attend to and arrangements are underway that we get funds to get the materials
to work on clearing the backlog so that we return our services back to normal.
We need to go back to what our charter says of providing urgent passports, 24
hour passports as the fastest, three days and one for four weeks. We have not
been able to do this because of unavailability of resources,” he said.
Asked on reports on pending increases in passport fees, Mr
Masango said the department has not yet received the green light from the
Government to do so. He said the problem of antiquated machinery has been eased
following the acquisition of a US$600 000 machine to produce the passports.
Mr Masango said his office has also received numerous
complaints from the public about the treatment they are getting from officials
in the department.
“It is unfortunate that there are members of the public who
have not been well attended to as seen by the complaints that we get. It is
Government policy that everybody must be served professionally, courteously and
with respect. However, we do get individuals not living up to that expectation.
We currently have an ongoing public care and public customer handling internal
refresher course to ensure that we maintain the standards expected by the
public and Government to serve our public,” he assured.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage
Ambassador Cain Mathema has stressed the need for all parents and guardians to
register births for their children within the stipulated time in order to
secure basic human rights to name, identity and nationality.
Speaking during the CVRS Day belated commemorations which
were held for the first time in Zimbabwe, Ambassador Mathema said it was
disturbing to note that many undocumented children were coming from South
Africa. The celebrations were held under the theme “Birth Certificate for All:
a Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion”.
“It is sad to note that there are children born in South
Africa and brought here with no birth certificates via illegal transporters and
dumped without any particulars to elderly grandparents who will fend for them.
Those grandparents may not be able to secure those documents which is a problem
when they want to start school,” he said.
The celebrations were marked with a march from the Bulawayo
Passport Office to Milton Junior Primary School, which was the venue for the
commemorations. The commemorations were meant to raise awareness on the
importance of birth certificates and other identity particulars which people
should acquire in order for them to enjoy full benefits of being citizens and
residents of Zimbabwe. Sunday News
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