Times of Eswatini

This will downgrade our internatio­nal passports - Home Affairs

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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.

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