The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has announced that it has cleared the passport backlog and that it is now accepting express passport applications only.
This is according to the department’s national spokesperson Wellington Chiponde who said that the approach of receiving express applications is an interim strategy specifically for the transition period in the issuance of passports as it expects a new passport supplier.
Chiponde told this publication that such strategy will help the Department to do away with accumulation of passport backlog which will ultimately enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the process.
“This is a transition period strategy in the issuance of passports and it will only be applied for the specific transition period until we identify a new passport contractor. The good news is that we are at an advanced stage in the process of identifying a new passport contractor and very soon we’ll resume to normal production.
“But we are also aware that a procurement process of a project of this nature requires input from various stakeholders to ensure value for money. But we are doing everything possible to expedite the whole process,” said Chiponde.
He further said that the Department has now cleared all the applications which were yet to be issued and currently the Department is receiving fresh express applications which are processed in a day or two.
The Department since last year scaled down printing of passports, prioritizing issuance of emergency travelers after government terminated passport contract with Techno Brain Global.
