This will downgrade our international passports - Home Affairs

MBABANE – This will downgrade our international passports if it is true, says the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Communications Officer of the Ministry Mlandvo Dlamini said if it was true, that there were individuals who had submitted fraudulent bank statements to the ministry when seek ing international passports then they were doing a disservice to the country.

Dlamini said this could result in a downgrade of the credibility of local international passports, which were currently ranked seventh. He said the downgrade would result in the frustra tion of those travelling abroad, as their (passports) credibility would have to be verified at every port of entry in the countries they would be visiting.

The communications officer said the ministry discouraged these acts, as they affected the integrity of the passports. He said those seeking in ternational passports should follow the laid down procedures and submit authentic documents, as shortcuts had negative repercussions. ³People should also avoid using agents when seeking services at the ministry, as the agents can get them in trouble by presenting information which has sources that are not authentic,” Dlamini said. The communications officer said this when sought for comment on what were the vetting processes to ensure that the documentation presented by to the ministry was authentic and was not a misrepresentation of facts. He was also asked if the ministry had, in the past, been able to identify such acts and if yes, what were what the penalties for engaging in such acts were.

Dlamini was also asked if the min istry had planned linking national identity documents of the citi]enry to all systems in order to ensure that such could be identified and dealt with immediately. /astly, he was asked what such an act meant to the credibility of the .ingdom of Eswatini’s internation al passports.

Compromise

Dlamini said the ministry did engage in vetting the paperwork submitted which included the birth certificate and national identity document. When sought for clarity on the bank state ments, he reTuested not e[pand on the vetting procedure, as he claimed it could compromise their processes.

On whether any individuals had been caught presenting fraudulent documents in the past, Dlamini said the ministry did not have anything substan tial. However, he said if a person was caught to have submitted fraudulent paperwork, that individual was, among other things, punished through being denied the service they sought. He said this was because some of the forms which were filled needed an individual to swear under oath before a notary on the authenticity of all information submitted. Dlamini said government was currently in the first phase of linking all national documents into their integrated system. He said they were hopeful that before the lapse of the 12th Parliament’s term, they would have fully implemented the integration of their digital system.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Assistant Superintendent No sipho Mnguni said nothing had been officially reported to them. However, she said they would investigate such acts and bring to book those who were responsible. On the other hand, police at various instances detained people at the Enterprise Building as part of inves tigating the sale of forged documents.