Passport backlog drops to 90,000

Mutsekwa said a move by the government to allow the struggling Registrar General (RGs) office to charge in foreign currency had assisted the government department to purchase materials used in the processing of passports, resulting in the drop in the backlog.
The RGs office last year blamed its failure to process the much needed travel documents on the lack of foreign currency to purchase materials, resulting in the backlog skyrocketing to 500 000 in December 2008.
The failure of the RGs office to issue passports last year mirrored the ravaging economic crisis that had at the time knocked all government departments to their knees.
The problem of foreign currency to source some of the consumables that are used to manufacture passports has since been attended to since the RGs office started charging in foreign currency in February.
The backlog will be cleared soon,” Mutsekwa noted. At present, the backlog stands at minus or plus 90 000.
The RGs office charges US$190 for an ordinary passport, US$50 for an emergency travel document (ETD) and US$350 for an emergency passport figures that incited anger amongst ordinary Zimbabweans who said they were beyond reach.
Ministers have acknowledged that fees for the travel documents were expensive in relation to the salaries received by the majority of workers.
Mutsekwa said the government would review downwards the passport processing fees, but could not say when.