The government Wednesday opened another e-passport office in Bulawayo following widespread congestion at the Harare office as the demand for the travelling document swells.
Officiating at the opening of the new branch, Home Affairs Minister, Kazembe Kazembe said the country is guided by the the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) which requires that member states take necessary measures to ensure the integrity, authenticity and security of travel and identity documents
“As you may all know, Zimbabwe. The introduction of the new generation of e-passports is, therefore, fully compliant with ICAO standards and has enhanced security features to abate fraudulent activities,” he said.
Kazembe added that the process of setting up the infrastructure for the issuance of e-passports has now been taken to Hwange and Lupane, in Matabeleland North Province.
This shall be followed by a similar exercise to the remaining seven (7) provincial offices, which should be up and running by 30 June 2022.
The e-passport has enhanced security features which include an electronic cover with a chip; Personal data of the holder and security thread fully embedded in the inner booklet pages
In addition, each page of the passport chronicles a story about Zimbabwe’s rich cultural heritage and major tourists attractions.
“These enhanced security features will play a major role in combatting cross-border organized crime and illegal migration, thereby, bringing integrity to our migration system,” Kazember noted.
He admitted that the government is overwhelmed with an increasing number of passport seekers.
“I am aware of the challenges our citizens are experiencing in trying to acquire travel documents. I must assure you, however, that with the decentralization of the e-passport enrolment centres, the long queues that have been witnessed at passport offices will soon be a thing of the past,” Kazember added.
To combat this, Kazembe said, the government will avail online platforms which are critical towards the realization of enhanced service delivery.
“In this regard, my Ministry is working on plans to establish an Online Passport Application system for the
the convenience of the general public,” he said.
