Chinhoyi e-passport office upgrade nears completion

THE refurbishment of Chinhoyi passport office so as to issues e-passports is now almost finished, with the contractor making final touches.

The office is expected to be opened this month, reaffirming the Second Republic’s commitment to ensure all 59 districts in the country have an office that issues all civil registration documents, including e-passports, so that no one needs to travel for long distances to access these documents, a policy demanded by President Mnangagwa.

At the Civil Registry Department’s Chinhoyi office at the Seven Heroes Government Complex yesterday, all interior works and installation of the required equipment had been done, and all things being equal, the office shall be opened this month.

Presently, e-passports are issued in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Chitungwiza, Hwange, Lupane, Beitbridge and Murehwa.

President Mnangagwa launched the new and secure e-passport at Chiwashira Muchecheterwa Building in Harare in December last year.

Since then, the passport backlog has been considerably reduced.

Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in Africa producing e-passports.

Mashonaland West Provincial Registrar, Mrs Christina Chikerema, said the refurbishments that started in September had brought tremendous changes to the Civil Registry offices.

“The contractor is left with constructing vetting and collection sheds for customers,” she said. “Some of the works done so far include re-partitioning of offices, painting and tiling, giving our offices a brand new look.

“In addition, new furniture and machinery for the e-passport office have been installed.”

The Chinhoyi passport office is expected to service the entire province, until the needed facilities have been set up in all the districts.

It is expected to serve about 200 applicants per day through an improved workflow that minimises queuing.

Said Mrs Chikerema: “Everything here is computerised up to the collection system. This is a more efficient and water-tight processing system that minimises loopholes that can cause corruption.

“The new office is also unique in that it has CCTV surveillance.”

The coming in of the e-passport facility has seen CBZ establishing an in-house bank at the office, making the process of applying for the passports and paying for them more convenient and secure.

After vetting at the shed, applicants deposit an application fee at the bank, then move on to the rest of the processing phase.

The contractor has also drilled a borehole onsite and installed two 5 000 litre tanks to ensure continuous supply of water, to maintain good hygiene.

Mrs Chikerema said after the commissioning of Chinhoyi office, the next step would be upgrading Kadoma into a district passport office at the other end of the province.

A new Civil Registry building is already under construction and nearing completion in Kadoma. Staff for the office have already been recruited.

An e-passport contains a biometric identifier designed to protect citizens from identity theft, while also allowing for faster passage through transit at home border posts.