Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Blessings Chidakwa Herald Reporter
Zimbabwe starts processing e-passports at its embassy in South Africa this week, with officers from the Registrar General’s department being deployed to assist consulate staff.
As the Government continues to make strides in making civic documents readily available and easy to access, the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry has completed the setting up of the e-passport processing centre in Johannesburg.
Plans are afoot to open five more e-passport offices abroad, including in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and the US.
The Second Republic is walking the talk on bringing services closer to the people, locally and abroad.
In an interview, Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Ambassador Raphael Faranisi, said all was in place to start the issue of e-passports in South Africa from this week.
“Staff from the registrar’s office will this week be travelling to our South African Embassy to train the consulate staff on how to process e-passports.
“The Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry was doing renovations at the consulate, but it is now complete. So, this week, while training the consulate staff, they will also be issuing the e-passports.”
Within two weeks, issuing e-passports would be in full swing.
Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage will officially commission the office on a date to be announced.
The Government has opened several e-passport centres countrywide including in Guruve, Gwanda, Gweru, Lupane, Marondera, Beitbridge, Chitungwiza, Hwange, Mazowe, Murehwa, Zvishavane, Chinhoyi and Guruve, to add to the facilities at Chiwashira Muchecheterwa Building in Harare and at provincial and district offices in Bulawayo.
Issuance of e-passports began on January 18 2022, as the civil registry department took heed of the Government’s directive to smoothen the process of acquiring travel documents, which, until then, was a nightmare for many people.
The launch of the e-passport and the state-of-the-art passport enrolment centre, is in line with the Government’s vision of a modern and digitised economy.
Strategic investment in key areas of the digital economy is seen as a critical way for Zimbabwe to keep pace with the dynamic and technological environment.
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