News / National
Passport printing machine accident genuine
05 Jan 2011 at 00:54hrs | Views
Co-Home Affairs minister, Theresa Makone on Tuesay said the manner in
which the Registrar General's (RG) office has been operating makes the
public lose trust in the department but added the destruction of a
component of the database at KGVI in Harare was a genuine accident.
Makone said Zimbabweans should not suspect any foul play on the database accident after reports that a lot of people had been spreading rumours that the passport crisis was a ploy by the Registrar General's department to deny Zimbabweans in the Diaspora passports.
"I can confirm that there was no foul play and that the destruction was clearly an accident," said Makone.
"It was not their fault and people should understand that accidents do happen even at the Registrar General's office."
Meanwhile, Zimbabweans yesterday expressed concern over the failure by the RG's office to rectify the problem fast enough.
The destruction of the database affected every national registration centre across the country.
The database breakdown effectively brought to a standstill the acceptance of new passport application forms, processing of temporary travelling documents as well as the issuing out of national identity cards and birth certificates whose production is computerised.
When reporters visited Makombe government complex on Tuesday morning a lot of people, including those who needed to travel urgently, were still milling around the office puzzled by the shutdown.
All offices at Makombe Building were closed except one where people were collecting passports which were processed last year.
The passport seekers were observed loitering at the building, hoping that the situation would be rectified.
At the National Employment Service centre, which houses one of the branches of the Registrar General's Office in Harare, the process of issuing national identity cards was going on smoothly, though there were very long queues.
Makone said Zimbabweans should not suspect any foul play on the database accident after reports that a lot of people had been spreading rumours that the passport crisis was a ploy by the Registrar General's department to deny Zimbabweans in the Diaspora passports.
"I can confirm that there was no foul play and that the destruction was clearly an accident," said Makone.
"It was not their fault and people should understand that accidents do happen even at the Registrar General's office."
Meanwhile, Zimbabweans yesterday expressed concern over the failure by the RG's office to rectify the problem fast enough.
The destruction of the database affected every national registration centre across the country.
The database breakdown effectively brought to a standstill the acceptance of new passport application forms, processing of temporary travelling documents as well as the issuing out of national identity cards and birth certificates whose production is computerised.
When reporters visited Makombe government complex on Tuesday morning a lot of people, including those who needed to travel urgently, were still milling around the office puzzled by the shutdown.
All offices at Makombe Building were closed except one where people were collecting passports which were processed last year.
The passport seekers were observed loitering at the building, hoping that the situation would be rectified.
At the National Employment Service centre, which houses one of the branches of the Registrar General's Office in Harare, the process of issuing national identity cards was going on smoothly, though there were very long queues.
Source - Byo24
