Low fees for passports and other related documents at
central registry have hampered efficient service delivery, as the department is
now overwhelmed by the huge demand from applicants, legislators have heard.
Passport fees were last pegged in 2009 and were denominated
by the United States dollars.
They have remained at the same level despite the fact that
they are charged in Zimbabwean dollar.
This came out on Thursday during a tour of the Passport
Office by Parliament’s portfolio committee on defence and Home Affairs chaired
by Umzingwane MP Cde Levi Mayihlope (Zanu PF).
Responding to the legislators and journalists on the
viability of the fees, Registrar-General, Mr Clement Masango, said they needed
review.
Although Mr Masango could not be drawn into divulging the
department’s proposed figures, an ordinary passport which cost $53 at the
moment, could be costing more than $1 000 using the interbank rate given that
the figure was initially pegged in United States dollars.
Zimbabwe’s passports remained the cheapest in the region.
South Africa is the next cheapest at R400, while Botswana
charges P1 260. Zambia’s passport goes for US$100 and in DRC it’s at a whopping
US$185.
British passports are £72,50 (US$91), while the US charges
US$110 for the first passport a person receives, since there are a lot of
checks, but considerably less for subsequent passports.
A birth certificate replacement which cost $2 would have
cost around $40 using the interbank rate which is pegged around 1:18.
The huge demand for passports on the back of low fees have
seen the prevalence of touts, and allegations of corruption being levelled
against staff at civil the registry.
Mr Masango said his department had made representations to
relevant authorities and the matter was being considered.
“That matter is before the authorities,” he said.
“We are just implementing agencies. As soon as they come up
with a position we will be informed just like anybody else. Remember the
current fees were in US dollar and were set in 2009.
“If we were to make sense, we all know that with respect to
passports, we import material and how much is $53? It is less than US$3.”
Mr Masango said charging viable fees would result in the
rapid processing of applications since materials used to make the passports are
all imported and expensive.
He said in seeking a review, the department was not keen to
make profit from the passports, but ensure they remain accessible.
While an ordinary passport costs $53, an emergency passport
costs $253.
Cabinet has since authorised the civil Registry Department
to charge US$318 for passports in respect of those in the Diaspora to ensure
that they were not deported from their work stations owing to failure to have
valid documents.
During the tour, it also emerged that the central
registry’s office was stuck with some expired passports after applicants failed
to collect them despite huge demand for the travelling documents.
The expired passports, some of which would have been
applied on an urgent basis, were now set for destruction.
Besides expired passports, there are some stuck at the
central registry for long periods without being collected.
Mr Masango said his department was now applying to relevant
authorities to have them destroyed.
“We have a computerised system which informs an applicant
that his or her passport is ready for collection once it has been printed,” he
said.
“While some have responded by coming to collect, others
have not collected them. “This applies to some applications that would have
been made on an urgent basis.”
Legislators said one of the reasons for some applicants
failing to collect passports was that they would have skipped the country
looking for greener pastures, while others might have died.
“We cannot account for those who might have gone out of the
country through undesignated exit points, but we can account for those who
might have died,” said Mr Masango. Herald
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