Locum Client Services Assistant x2 (Gokwe)

Primary Care Nurses: Locums x2 (Gokwe & Mutare)

Van Sales Representatives (Harare)

Artisan Turner Machinist (Chipinge)

Graduate Trainee: Process Chemist (Chipinge)

Financial Accountant: Managerial Position (Harare)

Young Entrepreneurs Advocacy Council (YEAC) Volunteers x17

Program Support Assistant (Bulawayo)

Sales & Marketing Officer: Grade 10 (Gweru)

Trainee Parts Picker (Harare)

Invoicing Clerk (Mutare)

Graduate Trainee-Human Capital (Harare)

Student on Attachment - Pensions Department (Harare)

Contact Centre Agent - Telesales (Harare)

Undertaker (Bulawayo)

Mortician (Mutare)

Assistant Cost Accountant (Harare)

Sales and Marketing Assistant (Harare)

Control Center Analyst (Harare)

Human Resources Officer (Harare)

Advocacy and Communications Intern (Harare)

Sales Executive (Harare)

Computer Technician (Harare)

Information Systems (IS) Auditor (Harare)

Auditor (Harare)

The Registrar-General’s office says that approximately 100,000 passports remain uncollected, and they encourage applicants to visit their offices to collect the documents.
In an interview with the <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/close-to-100-000-passports-uncollected/">Sunday News</a>, Registrar-General Henry Machiri said some of the uncollected passports were processed a long time ago and they suspect the applicants have died.
Machiri also attributed the non-collection to slight delays in processing the e-passports which may have made applicants believe the documents will not be processed. He said:
<blockquote>
We managed to clear our backlog in September 2022 and all is well, we will never have a backlog again. We have said to those that we managed to clear when we had a backlog, come and collect your passports. Some have been collected but a number have not yet been collected.
E-Passports that have been enrolled are 1 111 625, e-passports collected/issued are 1 052 169 and the total number of uncollected machine-readable passports is 96 725.
We are encouraging people to go to the offices where they submitted their applications and collect them from there. If you applied in Bulawayo go there and collect your passport.
</blockquote>
Machiri also said that the Registrar-General’s office has been notifying applicants that their passports are now ready for collection via text messages. He said:
<blockquote>
We are also trying to devise other ways of informing those who will have applied for passports that their passports are ready for collection.
We have been sending them text messages when the passport is out but one might have changed the number as they wait so we will make other plans.
Other uncollected passports are due to unfortunate events such as death. So the system we use will inform us of those who will have died while they waited to collect their documents.
We do not have these statistics readily of the deceased but we can access them.
</blockquote>
The Registrar-General revealed that an e-passport office at Gokwe Centre will be operational before the end of this month, while plans are underway to commence issuing e-passports at the Johannesburg office.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

97 000 Passports Uncollected - RG's Office

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 <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/documents-dash-scores-rush-to-beat-january-passport-fee-hike/">Chronicle</a> that he had been queuing since Friday last week. He said:
<blockquote>
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.
</blockquote>
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:
<blockquote>
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?
</blockquote>
The Civil Registry Department recently issued a statement saying it was extending the working hours of all its e-passport offices. It said:
<blockquote>
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.
</blockquote>
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:
<blockquote>
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.
</blockquote>
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).
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Long, Winding Queues Resurface At Passport Offices

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday said that he had agreed with his Botswana counterpart President Mokgweetsi Masisi to scrap passport requirements and allow Zimbabweans and Batswana to move unhindered between the two countries.
Speaking during the fifth edition of the annual Kusi Ideas Festival in Gaborone, Botswana, Mnangagwa said the terms of the agreement will be worked out by officials from both countries. <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/botswana-zimbabwe-leaders-agree-passport-free-travel-mnangagwa/">ZimLive</a> quoted Mnangagwa as saying:
<blockquote>
I have been talking to my brother here (Masisi) after he was making a statement here and we have agreed, I can announce, that from now on we shall instruct our officials that there shall be no question of how to enter Zimbabwe, how to enter Botswana.
That should be cleared. The two of us have agreed, realising that we are Africans. We should be able to walk into Botswana, walk into Zambia and walk into Kenya. We agreed when we were sitting there that why should we restrict ourselves?
Somebody said in the past we were all living together, then the global north came and made boundaries, where the family’s kitchen became on the other side of the border, the bedroom on the other side of the border. So why should we continue to respect this? Let us open the borders among ourselves and move freely.
</blockquote>
Speaking to Zimbabwean journalists after attending the Kusi Ideas Festival, Mnangagwa said the envisioned deal with Botswana would mean travellers only require their respective national identity documents to travel between the two countries. <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/zimbabwe-botswana-to-scrap-passports-for-travellers/">He said</a>:
<blockquote>
We impose constraints on ourselves which are more colonial than they are patriotic, so we agreed that he (President Masisi) himself on his side and myself on my side are going to instruct the relevant departments to ease these constraints of movement of people between our two countries.
It should be enough for someone having an identity card to cross into Zimbabwe or cross into Botswana, so this is what we are going to do.
He has undertaken to talk to his ministers to facilitate that; I will do the same in Zimbabwe to make sure we facilitate the movement of Zimbabweans and Batswana between the two countries without any constraints except one’s ID (identity document).
</blockquote>
In his keynote address at the Kusi Ideas Festival, Masisi said his government officials have commenced consultations to ensure that the passport-free dispensation with Zimbabwe becomes a reality. He said:
<blockquote>
Our steps towards facilitation of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area are being given impetus by policy action taken by some sister nations like Kenya, who have announced the intention to abolish visa requirements for Africans travelling to Kenya.
I guess speaking for ourselves, President Mnangagwa, the ball is in your court and mine. We shall talk. 
We, on our part, have since April this year initiated an even easier movement between ourselves and neighbouring Namibia, by which citizens of both nations can travel between the two countries using only their national identity cards as a travel document.
This has reduced the burden of acquisition of passports for travel to either country. We hope that with time this will become a feature of the subcontinent and eventually the continent as a whole. 
And yes, once again, President Mnangagwa, I am happy to tell you that I have begun consultations on my side; I wish you begin on yours so that next after Namibia will be a Zimbabwean ID holder travelling seamlessly to Botswana, and a Botswana citizen . . . travelling seamlessly to Zimbabwe.
</blockquote>
Botswana has a population of 2.5 million and is one of Africa’s most stable countries.
In contrast, Zimbabwe’s population is above 16 million and the country has been in economic turmoil for more than two decades.
Botswana, like all of Zimbabwe’s neighbours, hosts a sizeable Zimbabwean migrant community and deports thousands of Zimbabweans annually for immigration offences.
Meanwhile, Botswana already signed a similar arrangement with Namibia. The two countries are accepting each other’s national identity cards for use in cross-border business and tourism travel for stays of up to 90 days.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwe, Botswana Leaders Announce Plans To Scrap Passports For Travellers

Zimbabweans engaged in cross-border trade have expressed outrage after the Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Mthuli Ncube proposed to hike passport fees.
Presenting the 2024 National Budget on Thursday, 30 November, Ncube proposed to raise the fee for an ordinary passport from US$120 to US$200 and for an emergency passport from US$220 to US$300 with effect from 01 January 2024.
He said the additional revenue generated from the increase “will be ring-fenced towards road infrastructure development”.
Amid Zimbabwe’s economic challenges, many people survive by doing cross-border trade, and therefore, for them, a passport is a vital tool of their trade.
Thousands of unemployed Zimbabweans make a living by travelling, primarily to South Africa, Dubai and Turkey to buy goods unavailable or too expensive in Zimbabwe, for resale.
Mavis Chiangwa travels to South Africa regularly to buy spare parts for cars for sale in Harare.
She told <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67587440">BBC</a> that although her passport is valid for another five years, the proposed hike is too much. She said:
<blockquote>
The 67% increase is too high and will make it difficult for those wanting to apply for new passports or those renewing.
</blockquote>
Journalist and political commentator Hopewell Chin’ono said the Zimbabwean Government “wants to make money from the misery of Zimbabweans who are running away from ZANU PF’s failed policies and corrupt rule.”
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabweans Furious Over Hike In Passport Fees

The Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg said that it will embark on mobile consular outreaches in Lesotho on 30 November and 01 December 2023.
In a public notice issued on Monday, 20 November, Zimbabwe Consul General Eria Phiri said:
<blockquote>
Please be advised that the Consulate will carry out its annual mobile consular outreach to the Kingdom of Lesotho. The Exercise will be held at the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) Building, 160 Constitutional Road in Maseru.
</blockquote>
The teams will be at 160 Constitutional Road, First Floor, CCL Building, Box 547, Maseru West, Maseru on 30 November and 01 December 2023.
They will be providing their services from 8.30 AM to 3.30 PM. During this period, the teams will be offering the following services:
<ul>
<li>Birth certificate registration Form – R100.00</li>
<li>Passport form processing – R300.00 </li>
<li>Temporary Travel Document (TTD) application – R500.00</li>
<li>Non-Marriage applications – R200.00</li>
<li>Section 5 – R150.00</li>
<li>Verification of public documents (Zimbabwean issued, e.g. birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, passports, etc.) – R250.00</li>
</ul>
Phiri said a two-hour mop-up exercise will be undertaken on Saturday 02 December 2023. He said:
<blockquote>
The mobile teams will be operating from 0830 to 1530 hours during the stated dates. A mop exercise will be undertaken on Saturday 02 December 2023 from 8 am to 10 am thus giving way to another function thereafter. Please note that service will be given on a first-come-first-served basis.
The Consulate urges the Zimbabwean community in the Kingdom of Lesotho to advantage of this mobile exercise to regularize their documents.
Kindly visit our website at www.zimbabweconsulate.co.za for comprehensive information on application requirements.
Please take note that the Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria and the two Consulates, namely: Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg and the Zimbabwe Consulate in Cape Town, do not have agents who act on their behalf.
For further interaction with the Consulate on all issues of mutual interest, please use the following official channels:
<ul>
<li>Facebook page: Zimbabweconsulate Boeing Road Bedfordview</li>
<li>Twitter: Zimbabweconsulatejhb</li>
<li>WhatsApp: +27828249435</li>
<li>Email: admin@zimbabweconsulate.co.za</li>
<li>Website: www.zimbabweconsulate.co.za</li>
</ul>
<img alt="Image" decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F_cUDb4WMAAGDvd?format=png&amp;name=900x900"/><img alt="Image" decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F_cULfkXIAAXMti?format=png&amp;name=900x900"/>
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/2023/11/18/president-mnangagwa-reverses-the-appointment-of-general-valerio-sibanda-to-zanu-pf-politburo/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwean Consulate To Provide Vital Documents To Citizens In Lesotho

The Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, said that it will carry out mobile consular outreaches in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces from 09 to 25 November 2023.
In a public notice issued on Thursday, 02 November, Acting Consul General D. Shambakumanja said that during this period, the teams will be offering the following services: birth certificate registration, passport form processing, Temporary Travel Document (TTD) application, non-marriage applications, and verification of public documents (Zimbabwean issued, e.g. birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, passports, etc.)
In Limpopo Province, the teams will be in Bochun, at Motlele Guest House, No1 EXT 5 Senwabarwana from 9 to 12 November 2023. They will be providing their services between 8.30 AM and 3 PM.
From 14 to 18 November 2023, the teams will be in Polokwane, also in Limpopo Province. They will be at Orpenview, 135 Orpen Road, Ivydale from 8.30 AM to 3 PM.
From 23 to 25 November 2023, the teams will be in Mpumalanga Province. The officials will be at Gerefomeerde Kerk Hoevel Posbus 541, River Cresent between 8.30 AM and 3 PM. Added Shambakumanja:
<blockquote>
The mobile teams will be operating from 0830 to 1530 hours during the stated dates. Please note that service will be given on a first-come – first-served basis.
The Consulate urges the Zimbabwean community in the two provinces to take advantage of these mobile exercises to regularize their documents.
</blockquote>
Kindly visit our website at www.zimbabweconsulate.co.za for comprehensive information on application requirements
Please take note that the Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria and the two Consulates, namely: the Zimbabwe Consulate in Johannesburg and the Zimbabwe Consulate in Cape Town, do not have agents who act on their behalf.
For further interaction with the Consulate on all issues of mutual interest, please use the following official channels:
<ul>
<li>Facebook page: Zimbabweconsulate Boeing Road Bedfordview</li>
<li>Twitter: Zimbabweconsulatejhb</li>
<li>WhatsApp: +27828249435</li>
<li>Email: admin@zimbabweconsulate.co.za</li>
<li>Website: www.zimbabweconsulate.co.za</li>
</ul>
<img alt="Image" decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9_zDbMXwAAGq0Y?format=png&amp;name=900x900"/><img alt="Image" decoding="async" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9_zDbRWAAEiyLr?format=png&amp;name=900x900"/>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwean Consulate In Joburg Deploys Mobile Teams To Provide Vital Documents To Citizens

Zimbabweans based in South Africa have welcomed the decision by the Government to establish e-passport and national identity card application and enrolment centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
The Registrar General’s Office recently announced that the centres will be opened in the two South African cities before the end of 2023.
Currently, Zimbabweans living in South Africa who need passports can access application forms for the passports in the neighbouring country but have to travel back home to submit the forms.
Speaking to <a href="https://www.sundaynews.co.zw/zimbabweans-welcome-passport-offices-in-south-africa/">The Sunday News</a>, the chairman of the Zimbabwean Community in South Africa Ngqabutho Mabhena said the move was a welcome development. He said:
<blockquote>
We welcome the move by the Zimbabwean Government to allow access to passports in Johannesburg and Cape Town because previously people have been struggling.
They were able to access application forms for the passports but to have them submitted at the passport offices in Zimbabwe was the challenge, if you are a Mabhena, a person with the same surname had to submit your papers and it was problematic.
We are glad that people will now be able to get their passports from here.
</blockquote>
Christine Mainato who resides in Johannesburg, said that applying for passports has been a nightmare. She said:
<blockquote>
All these years, we had to return home two months before your passport expires and apply for one and return to South Africa while it is being processed.
Some were then forced to apply for emergency passport services which were too expensive for most of us.
This is because we never had the luxury of staying for a month in Zimbabwe waiting for the passport due to work commitments.
But I am glad now we can do it from where we are.
</blockquote>
She said she will be able to even apply for e-passports for her children born in South Africa who did not have the travel documents.
According to the Civil Registry Department of Zimbabwe, more than 100 000 e-passports have been issued since the introduction of e-passports in January 2022.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabweans In South Africa Welcome Passport Offices In Joburg, Cape Town

The Registrar-General Henry Machiri has said plans are underway to establish passport enrolment centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town before the end of this year.
This will enable Zimbabweans living in South Africa to apply for and collect passports and national identity cards in the neighbouring country.
In an interview with <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/passport-offices-to-be-opened-in-sa">The Sunday Mail</a>, Machiri said they are planning to establish e-passport enrolment centres in several countries. He said:
<blockquote>
E-passport enrolment centres are being established across borders and citizens will benefit by applying whilst in countries that will have these facilities.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage is implementing the e-passport system in South Africa.
Renovations to consulate offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town will be completed soon. We are targeting to open the two centres before the end of the year.
</blockquote>
Consul-General at Zimbabwe’s Embassy in Johannesburg Eria Phiri said:
<blockquote>
Renovation and repurposing of the building is now complete and work is going on well.
For the consulate office, everything is now ready and we are waiting for the deployment of the information and communication technology infrastructure at the end of this month.
The offices will greatly improve the ability of Zimbabweans in South Africa to access their civic documents.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, Machiri said Zimbabweans will soon be able to apply for civic documents (birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates, etc) online once the deployment of the enhanced Zimbabwe Population Registry System (ZPRS) by the Government is complete.
Currently, applicants have to come in person to apply for the documents at the Civil Registry Department offices.
The ZPRS will link Government offices in real-time, cutting bureaucracy and revolutionising the department’s work. Said Machiri:
<blockquote>
The digital migration is likely to start end of October 2023. The servers have been installed and configured. Software development for system applications is in progress.
The online passport application process is not yet functional. The system is being implemented in phases. We expect to complete the implementation of all phases in 12 months.
</blockquote>
He also said more than 100 000 e-passports have been issued since the introduction of e-passports in January 2022.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwe To Open Passport Offices In South Africa - Registrar General

South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Mike Masiapato has said Zimbabweans who cross the border into South Africa without passports to buy scarce goods and go back to their country are not necessarily criminals. 
Speaking on the SA television channel Newzroom Africa, Masiapato said BMA is not targetting all Zimbabweans who cross the border into South Africa without passports but those involved in criminal activities such as smuggling contraband.
Masiapato conceded that passports are very expensive for some Zimbabweans to acquire in their home country yet they need to buy groceries in Musina for re-sale back home. He said:
<blockquote>
We have committed to start engaging along the separation of the various groups of people that we are dealing with so that we can be able to isolate those individuals who are supposed to be a target of law enforcers, those who are supposed to be the criminals.
If you were to look at the situation between us and Zimbabwe, it basically presents a number of groupings for different purposes.
A typical example is… we have a lot of Zimbabweans who have documents, who basically come into South Africa in Musina town in particular to procure normal foodstuffs, things that they need to go and sell back in Zimbabwe primarily because they are not able to access them on the Zimbabwean side either because they are too expensive or they are unavailable. Those ones we facilitate on a daily basis.
But there is a second group which is fairly the same kind of people who want to come and buy things and go sell them but they don’t have passports.
The reason they don’t have passports is the expensive nature of the reality of getting a passport on the Zimbabwean side and don’t they access them.
They are not necessarily criminals, they just don’t have passports. So they will then cross the border into South Africa and buy things.
So those are the ones that we are going to be able to have a mechanism as to how do we address those groups of individuals with the Zimbabweans.
Then we separate those who must be the real target of our work and those who are pushing illegal things.
</blockquote>
BMA is now the third armed service in South Africa after the South African National Defence Force and the South African Police Service.
It is mandated to perform border management functions within ports of entry as well as the law enforcement area.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabweans Crossing Into SA Without Passports To Buy Groceries Are Not Criminals, Says Border Management Authority Official

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi is reportedly mulling a proposal to allow Batswana and Zimbabweans to use national identity cards (IDs) for travel between the two countries.
Currently, citizens from both countries require valid passports to cross the border.
<a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/https-www-newzimbabwe-com-president-masisi-wants-to-scrap-passport-requirement-for-zimbabweans-entering-botswana/">NewZimbabwe.com</a> cited The Parrot newspaper as saying Masisi revealed that he will make the proposal over the use of ID cards for cross-border travel when he meets his Zimbabwe counterpart, President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Part of the reads:
<blockquote>
President Mokgweetsi Masisi has just revealed that in a few months’ time, he will be meeting his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa on a visit where he will make sure they discuss the use of identity cards for border crossing between the two countries.
</blockquote>
Arguably, the majority of Zimbabweans who migrate to Botswana will be seeking better economic prospects while Batswana citizens mostly cross into Zimbabwe to seek tertiary education.
In February this year, Masisi and Namibian President, Hage Geingob signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to permit citizens of the two countries to use IDs to cross borders.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Botswana President Wants To Scrap Passport Requirement For Zimbabwean Travellers | Report

The Civil Registry Department says it has increased the production of passports, with Harare now producing about 1 300 passports per day from under 1 000.
In an interview with <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/registry-clears-festive-season-passport-demand/">The Herald</a> on Wednesday, Registrar-General Henry Machiri said there has been a sharp increase in the number of passport applications during the festive season.
He said that in order to meet demand, they are working on weekends and have extended working hours and also increased personnel servicing passport applicants. Said Machiri:
<blockquote>
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.
We cannot say the numbers have really dwindled. As long as they (Diasporans) are still around, numbers are still there.
But we expect that in the next two weeks, the numbers will be going down as some collect their passports, but we are managing.
</blockquote>

Demand For Passports Surged During Festive Season

The Registrar-General’s (RG) Office says it has issued over 350 000 e-passports to date, clearing the national backlog that stood at 200 000 in January.
In an interview with State media, Registrar-General Henry Machiri also said plans to decentralise the service are now at an advanced stage. He said:
<blockquote>
Since we started the e-passport programme on January 18, I can confirm that we have issued over 350 000 passports.
We successfully cleared the passport backlog in September this year.
We asked all those who had applied for passports to go and collect their documents.
We are happy with the progress we have made so far, and we are looking forward to expanding the e-passport enrolment programme to all the districts countrywide.
We have plans to expand to Chinhoyi, Marondera, and Mutare, going down to all the districts.
Besides expanding offices in the country, Government will also be establishing passport enrolment centres at selected embassies across the world.
</blockquote>
Garsu Pasaulis, a security printing company that was engaged by the government to set up modern national biometric infrastructure for the production of the new e-passport, national identity cards, resident permits, and visas, reportedly has the capacity to print more than 5 000 passports a day.
An official report detailing the e-passport programme obtained by The Sunday Mail states:
<blockquote>
We are delighted to report that, since the inception of the e-passports project, Garsu Pasaulis has managed to cumulatively produce a total of 352 156 ordinary and express e-passports as of December 3, 2022.
In addition to the above, the company has also produced several diplomatic and service passports on behalf of the Government of Zimbabwe.
The company invested in high-end, state-of-the-art passport personalisation machines which are capable of printing over 500 passports per hour.
Depending on the number of applications received, the company has a production capacity that can enable the printing of more than 5 000 passports per day.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/passport-backlog-cleared">The Sunday Mail</a>

"Passport Backlog Cleared"

The Registrar General’s office has said it is only issuing the US$318 emergency passport.
In an interview with The Chronicle, acting Registrar-General Mr Henry Machiri said while the department is now fully operational, it was issuing the emergency passport.
Machiri said the department was only issuing the emergency passport due to the lack of resources. He said the RG’s Office was also issuing birth certificates. Machiri said:
<blockquote>
When it comes to passports and IDs, it’s unfortunate that there is a different scenario which my minister and permanent secretary have alluded to before. It’s an issue of resources. The materials are not enough. So, we have to limit it so that we look at the urgency. We are serving the most urgent and when we get more resources, we will open up for more citizens to come and get documentation.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/forex-constraints-limit-rgs-office-to-emergency-passports/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chronicle</a>

Registrar General's Office Is Only Issuing The US$318 Emergency Passport

There was pandemonium on Tuesday at Makombe Building in Harare as thousands of desperate citizens jostled for emergency passports following an invitation by the Registrar-general’s office.
Reports indicate that only a few people were served, with anti-riot police having to be deployed to Harare Street to maintain order. A passport application who spoke to ZBC News said:
I have a child who desperately needs a passport to travel to South Africa, and if I don’t get it that means she will not be admitted in a school outside the country, I came here in the morning but there seems to be nothing for us here.
Access to identity documents is considered a human rights issue. However, the government is failing to avail the documents for citizens due to the foreign currency scarcity which is needed to import materials needed in the printing of the passport.
<h4>More: <a href="http://www.zbc.co.zw/chaos-rocks-rgs-office/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ZBC News</a></h4>

Chaos Engulfs Registrar-general's Office As Thousands Jostle For Emergency Passports

A report covers the desperate passport situation in Zimbabwe where a backlog of 280,000 passports needs to be cleared. On some days only about 12 people are served. Desperate Zimbabweans are sleeping in the queue waiting their turn to be served.
From AP:
<blockquote>At the passport office, the desperation to escape is all too clear.
“Guys, it’s either we jump the queue or we will have to jump the border,” one teenager told a group of friends plotting to sneak to the front of the line.
Another teen, 19-year-old Brian Ndlovu, said coming to the office makes him “feel like there is really no way out of this country. We are trapped.”
The teens’ plot to jump the queue failed, in large part because those at the front had camped there for days and knew each other by name.
Emma Chirwa said she only reached the front of the line because she had been sleeping outside the office since June 5.
“I was No. 34 on Friday. They served no one. On Thursday, they served 12 people,” she said, huddled in a blanket on Sunday night.
In the biting cold of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter, dozens of people, including women with toddlers, slept on cardboard boxes or in the dust, holding their places. Around midnight, one man parked his motorbike and joined his wife in blankets on the line. People laughed.
Some huddled around a fire of scrap wood taken from the grounds of an adjacent school. A small enterprise has emerged, with some young men holding places in the line for a fee. Others sell pens, food items and foreign currency while a generator powered a photocopy machine.</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/business/national-business/article231597478.html">bellinghamherald.com</a>

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