ZIMBABWE has commenced the production of e-passports for its citizens in South Africa, with a newly renovated building now ready for opening after the conclusion of the elections in that country.
The issuance of the e-passports comes after President Mnangagwa’s instruction that such documents should be available to all Zimbabweans regardless of their place of residence.
According to State media, a group of officials from the Registrar General’s office and other experts are currently in South Africa providing training to the consulate staff who will be participating in the processing of the e-passports.
Ambassador Raphael Faranisi, the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, mentioned that Zimbabweans have begun accessing e-passport services in South Africa. e-passport services in South Africa.
“The process of issuing the e-passports is already ongoing. As I speak, the e-passports are already being processed and there is training.
“Once the consultants leave, our consulate staff can take care of any problems that emerge,” he said.
Ambassador Faranisi said the office would be commissioned in due course once the South African elections have been settled.
An official from the relevant South African ministry will join Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage.
“The commissioning will be done at a date to be advised and the proposal is that our Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade commission the project.
“It would have been done earlier but you are aware that in South Africa they are still in an electoral period. Just like any other country, you don’t go and commission by yourselves because that’s foreign land. What we expect is, when our ministers go there, they will invite the host ministry responsible for immigration matters and then they commission in their presence.
“The commissioning will be done soon. Once there is a new Government, then we will arrange with our embassy on the most suitable date to do the commissioning. It will be two issues, to commission the new building as well as the e-passports,” he said.
The consulate staff in South Africa, said Ambassador Faranisi, were currently being trained on the practical and theory sides of e-passport processing by staff from the Registrar General’s office and the consultants.
“Initially it was to give them the theoretical aspect, then the second stage of training involves the actually processing of the forms, doing the actual work,” he said.
The government has plans to open five new e-passport offices abroad, including in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. This initiative aligns with the Second Republic’s goal of bringing services closer to the people, both locally and internationally.
Additionally, the government has already established several e-passport centers within Zimbabwe, located in Guruve, Gwanda, Gweru, Lupane, Marondera, Beitbridge, Chitungwiza, Hwange, Mazowe, Murehwa, Zvishavane, Chinhoyi, and Guruve. These facilities complement the existing centers at Chiwashira Muchecheterwa Building in Harare, as well as provincial and district offices in Bulawayo.
