News / National
Latest update on passport printing in Zimbabwe
04 Jul 2019 at 11:56hrs | Views
News coming from Harare indicate that the country has purchased new printers to enable the Director General's Office to clear the backlog of passports and also to increase the production of the travel document.
In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Information said, "The Ministry of Home Affairs is facing an increasing backlog of passport applications owing to the unavailability of foreign currency and obsolete machinery. The Ministry is currently addressing the matter in conjunction with Treasury.
"To this end, Treasury has already paid the US $591 000 to procure three state-of-the-art high capacity additional printers. This will raise production from the current 3 000 passports a day to 8 000. Decentralisation of registries is also underway."
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has described the passport crisis as "one of the major human rights challenges affecting the country".
"The commission will inquire into and determine the root causes and factors which prevent easy access to identity documents, particularly passports, and to assess the impact of documentation by individuals and groups on the enjoyment of human rights, guaranteed under the constitution, national laws and relevant international and regional treaties and instruments," the ZHRC said in a statement.
The commission also said it had invited written and oral submissions from stakeholders and the public by not later than July 31 to record grievances against the passport-issuing office.
In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Information said, "The Ministry of Home Affairs is facing an increasing backlog of passport applications owing to the unavailability of foreign currency and obsolete machinery. The Ministry is currently addressing the matter in conjunction with Treasury.
"To this end, Treasury has already paid the US $591 000 to procure three state-of-the-art high capacity additional printers. This will raise production from the current 3 000 passports a day to 8 000. Decentralisation of registries is also underway."
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has described the passport crisis as "one of the major human rights challenges affecting the country".
"The commission will inquire into and determine the root causes and factors which prevent easy access to identity documents, particularly passports, and to assess the impact of documentation by individuals and groups on the enjoyment of human rights, guaranteed under the constitution, national laws and relevant international and regional treaties and instruments," the ZHRC said in a statement.
The commission also said it had invited written and oral submissions from stakeholders and the public by not later than July 31 to record grievances against the passport-issuing office.
Source - Byo24News
