The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
RENOVATIONS of the Bulawayo Passport Enrolment Centre is set to commence on Wednesday (today) as the Government ups its efforts of boosting production of passports, national identification cards and birth certificates.
This comes as the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage has reiterated that the passport backlog which is presently pegged at 184 000 will be cleared by December this year.
Speaking at the post-Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Cde Monica Mutsvangwa said the renovations of the Harare passport office had already begun.
“Commencement of renovations at the Harare Passport Enrolment Centre, at the Civil Registry Building on 18 October 2021 while the Bulawayo Passport Enrolment Centre will commence on 27 October 2021. After the completion of these two sites, focus will then be shifted to other remaining cities, satellite centres and designated Embassies.
“It is pleasing to note that the backlog has since been reduced to the current 184 000. It is anticipated that the backlog would have been cleared by the end of December 2021. Cabinet also wishes to report that the implementation of a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer Agreement with Garsu Pasaulis, a Lithuanian Company on an e-Passport Production Project is well on course,” said the Minister.
She further revealed that the Government had already completed the approval of the final design of the Zimbabwean e-passport which will be fully–compliant with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
Government imports passport covers and consumables, with about eight security features. In April, the Civil Registry Department had about 200 000 applications prompting Government to introduce night shifts to clear the backlog that had resulted in people having to sleep at registry offices.
