Bulawayo residents have urged the government to clamp down on alleged corruption at passport offices in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city.
Residents allege that some senior registry officers were building palatial houses in the city from the proceeds of corruption.
Registry officials from the lowest-ranked worker to the senior management level are reportedly involved in corrupt practices.
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) secretary Bekithemba Dube told the Southern Eye on Friday that the government has to do something to eradicate corruption at Bulawayo passport offices. He said:
The issuance of electronic passports had brought hope to the end of corruption by the registry officials.
The residents had embraced the efficiency witnessed at the beginning, but now the old ways have returned much to the dismay of prospective registry document seekers.
Residents tell us that these corrupt activities are being fuelled by the officials working in cahoots with touts; this is tarnishing the image of the ministry and the government as a whole.
We are, therefore, calling for stiffer penalties on the would-be perpetrators.
Registry documents are a right enshrined in section four of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.
Anyone denying residents access to those universal rights is an enemy of humanity.
An insider who spoke to the publication claimed that desperate passport applicants were being made to pay at least US$10 just to collect the documents. Said the insider:
Acting registrar-general Henry Machira told Southern Eye that they will investigate the allegations.