Nhau News Online News that is accurate, reliable, trustworthy!!
STAFF WRITER
Zimbabweans based in South Africa have appealed to the Zimbabwe government to review the passport application charges which they said were exorbitant.
The government in December last year gazetted a new passport application fee pegged at US$318.
The Zimbabwe Community in South Africa (ZCSA), an organisation for Zimbabweans in that country said Covid-19 hardships have hit them hard and could not afford the fee.
“We call on the government to reduce the passport fee in solidarity with the working people who are under global lockdown following the outbreak of coronavirus,” the ZCSA spokesperson, Bongani Mazwi Mkwananzi said.
“A caring government will reduce the passport fees by at least 50 percent and still recoup passport production costs.”
The Registrar General’s office has indicated that it has a huge passport backlog of over 300 000. The development has seen passports applications taking longer than anticipated.
The Registrar General’s office has attributed the failure to clear the backlog to foreign currency shortages to import materials needed in the making of passports.
“It has become painfully clear that one must fork out this huge amount to get a passport processed otherwise they will wait months for a passport to be issued. Many have reported that they were told to top-up as long as their passports hold a work permit,” Mkwananzi said.
He also appealed to authorities to allow the Zimbabwe Consulate in that country to process their passports.
