Govt Moves To Issue Identity Documents To Zimbabweans In Diaspora In Host Countries

Home Affairs Minister, Cain Mathema has said that the government has initiated plans to issue important identity documents such as birth certificates, IDs and passports to Zimbabweans living in the diaspora.

The minister told reporters that the development is meant to save diasporans from the burden of travelling back to Zimbabwe to apply for these documents. He said:

My ministry has agreed that an outreach programme by the Central Registry Department should be embarked upon in the near future to provide vital registration documents such as birth certificates, national identity documents to selected countries with our nationals living in the diaspora.

The purpose of the outreach will be to issue birth certificates and national identity documents as well as receiving applications for passports for processing back in Harare.

His remarks come when the Registrar General’s office is struggling to produce passports enough to meet the high demand, a challenge that has seen the backlog accumulating to about 300 000.

Meanwhile, Mathema has also projected that with the arrival of modern passport printers, about 100 000 applicants will get their documents before year-end.

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