RG’s Office increases passport production figures

Zim Now Writer

The Civil Registry Department says it has upped its passport production to 1 300 per day in order to deal with the increased demand consistent with the festive season.

Previously, the department was producing 1 000 passports a day.

A coterie of measures that include working on weekends, extending working hours and increasing personnel servicing passport applicants, have been employed so as to meet the increased demand with Registrar-General Henry Machiri said they expect the number of people wanting travel documents to subside in the next two weeks.

“The situation is that people are still coming. Diasporans are still around, and we are working as we said, those extra hours and we are managing,” said Machiri.

“But we expect that in the next two weeks the numbers will be going down as some collect their passports, but we are managing.”

Machiri said they were taking a lot of applications and people should take advantage of Saturday, a day on which they are also opening to deal with the extra demand for passports.

The department is decentralising and is now issuing e-passports at various district offices to decongest Harare, as well as bring services closer to the people.