Long queues have resurfaced at the Civil Registry offices in Bulawayo as hundreds of citizens including those residing outside the country but are back home for the holidays apply for passports and other vital national identity documents.
The sudden increase in the number of people applying for passports has also been attributed to the hike in passport fees from US$120 to US$150 for ordinary passports, with effect from January 2024.
Butholezwe Sibindi, who is based in South Africa, on Tuesday told the Chronicle that he had been queuing since Friday last week. He said:
I came from South Africa with the hope that things had improved but alas it is still the same story.
This is disappointing because I have been stuck in these long queues for days instead of spending quality time with my family.
Leeroy Khumalo claimed that Civil Registry staff were prioritising those applying for emergency passports and deliberately ignoring ordinary passport applicants.
Another applicant, Sithabisiwe Ngwenya said it appears as if the workers were on a go-slow. She said:
This is a tiresome process and although we are aware that they have extended the working hours, their pace is slow.
What is the point of extending when they are going to just serve a few people?
The Civil Registry Department recently issued a statement saying it was extending the working hours of all its e-passport offices. It said:
The Civil Registry Department wishes to advise its valuable clients that it has extended its working hours in the passport section with immediate effect.
The passport offices will be open from Monday to Friday from 7 am to 7 pm during weekdays and from 8 am to 3 pm on Saturdays.
E-passports are issued in Harare, Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Gwanda, Gweru, Lupane, Marondera, Beitbridge, Chipinge, Chitungwiza, Hwange, Mazowe, Mwenezi and Zvishavane civil registry offices.
The Registrar General Henry Machiri said during the festive season, the number of passport applicants increases. He said:
The festive season is our busiest in terms of passport applications, and most of our citizens who are in the diaspora want to apply for documents.
Schools have closed and so we are expecting all these people to be coming now since they need to be there physically for biometrics.
So, the number will increase since most people want to beat the deadline to avoid paying more money.
In the proposed national budget, the fees for passports will increase in the coming month and some people want to beat the deadline and submit their applications now.
The Zimbabwean passport is arguably the most expensive in the SADC region after a deal by the Government awarding Garsu Pasaulis a tender to process the new e-passports in 2021.
In 2021, South Africa charged R400, equivalent to US$25, while Botswana charged P260 (US$25) for a passport.
Namibia’s passport was priced at R400 (or US$25), and Mozambique was charging 2500 meticais (about US$40).
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