adminHeather Charema Mash West Bureau
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has urged the Registrar-General’s Office to expedite the processing of passports, saying the documents had become essential in promoting the economic survival of most households.
Speaking during the ongoing public inquiry into access to documentation in the country at Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) Hotel, ZHRC deputy chairperson Commissioner Ellen Sithole said the public submissions had specified that the possession of a passport enabled the citizens to enjoy fundamental rights.
“Possession of a passport does not only facilitate freedom of movement as contemplated in Section 66 of the Constitution, but is also a source of livelihood.
“Many of our people today survive on cross-border trade.
“If passports are not readily available, people have no choice but to cross borders illegally,” she said.
Availing passports and other travel documents timeously, Commissioner Sithole said, would stem border jumping, while safeguarding the lives of citizens from compromising their rights to life, personal security and human dignity.
She said crossing borders without requisite documentation exposed citizens to exploitation, abuse and make them susceptible to modern forms of slavery and servitude.
Appearing before the panel on Tuesday, Mashonaland West Provincial registrar Mr Kevin Maturi gave oral evidence which highlighted that the RG’s Office was overwhelmed by applications for urgent passports that now cost RTGS $253, saying processing was going on at a snail’s pace due to funding and logistical constraints.
“Many applicants now shun the RTGS$53 passport which takes up to a year to process and prefer the RTGS$253 which takes an average of two weeks, thereby putting pressure on us, we have a huge backlog, but I cannot give specific figures,” said Mr Maturi.
The ZHRC thematic committee on gender also urged the RG’s Office to urgently revisit some of its policies, particularly those to do with paternity and fathers’ ineligibility to register their children alone in a bid to realign them with the new Constitution.
The national inquiry, which has been held in nine provinces so far, seeks to identify challenges faced by citizens in accessing national documents.
Online Reporter