Opinion / Columnist
Passport Application chaos
09 Dec 2020 at 08:29hrs | Views
The recent developments around the application of passports is sickening and very much disturbing. The rights of all citizens to obtain a passport without difficulty must be upheld and protected by the government.
The delay or denial of that basic civil right is an open violation of the constitution.
There have been reports making rounds on social platforms about unlawful behaviour demonstrated by officials serving at the passport offices across the country of denying citizens the right to submit forms for application of new passports.
The complaints emanate, mostly, from the diasporans. The covid-19 induced requirements stipulate that bookings for the renewal of a passport, at the consulate, should be done online. Once the forms for a new passport are obtained, the applicant then sends the documents to Zimbabwe to have the forms submitted to the Registrar's Office.
In the light of this, reports coming from Zimbabwe have it that the officials refuse to accept the forms, which in my view, constitutes the outright denial of citizens' rights to obtain a passport, as enshrined in the constitution. We can't have a simple thing as getting a passport politicized and made extremely difficult.
This kind of thing gives rise to corruption and easy manipulation of the system for personal gain. Citizens sleep in the queues outside passport offices across the country with the hope of getting their application forms accepted, only to be told that it can't happen.... the process is suspended, or it's full, come back at a later date or it's closed.
Where on earth has this kind of thing happened? There are also reports of some elements at the Registry demanding bribes for bypassing the queues to get the forms submitted.
We urge the government to treat this as a matter of urgency and launch a thorough investigation and root out corruption and denial of citizens' rights at the passport offices.
This kind of thing has to stop because it compromises the government's obligation to deliver services to citizens fairly and promptly. We hope relevant authorities will attend to this with the urgency it deserves.
The delay or denial of that basic civil right is an open violation of the constitution.
There have been reports making rounds on social platforms about unlawful behaviour demonstrated by officials serving at the passport offices across the country of denying citizens the right to submit forms for application of new passports.
The complaints emanate, mostly, from the diasporans. The covid-19 induced requirements stipulate that bookings for the renewal of a passport, at the consulate, should be done online. Once the forms for a new passport are obtained, the applicant then sends the documents to Zimbabwe to have the forms submitted to the Registrar's Office.
This kind of thing gives rise to corruption and easy manipulation of the system for personal gain. Citizens sleep in the queues outside passport offices across the country with the hope of getting their application forms accepted, only to be told that it can't happen.... the process is suspended, or it's full, come back at a later date or it's closed.
Where on earth has this kind of thing happened? There are also reports of some elements at the Registry demanding bribes for bypassing the queues to get the forms submitted.
We urge the government to treat this as a matter of urgency and launch a thorough investigation and root out corruption and denial of citizens' rights at the passport offices.
This kind of thing has to stop because it compromises the government's obligation to deliver services to citizens fairly and promptly. We hope relevant authorities will attend to this with the urgency it deserves.
Source - Lungisani Ndlovu
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