Immigration Dept seeks modern equipment

Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
The Department of Immigration needs modern equipment to detect and prevent undesirable people from entering Zimbabwe.

This was said by chief director of Immigration Ms Respect Gono when she appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services yesterday.

She said the outdated Border Management System (BMS) had resulted in poor service delivery to the travelling public as most work was being done manually.

“Some of the shortcomings of the system are that it is not integrated. It is not equipped with biometrics hence it can neither capture identity in real time nor detect counterfeit documents. The entry and exit sides of the passenger clearance are not integrated and cannot acquit a foreigner on departure.

“The system does not have an operational watch list to automatically detect undesirables. The visa section does not have a reliable backup system. The BMS is not linked to any airline, hence passenger manifests are only received in hard copies,” Ms Gono said.

“This normally results in airlines bringing in undesirables due to lack of pre-travel clearance and the system does not capture travellers in possession of more than one passport.” She said an ideal system should have a centralised database on immigrants and the capacity for real time transmission of information on migration matters within the Department.”

Such a system would also enable the speedy processing and clearance of travellers at the ports of entry and exit and reduce time needed to process visas and permits by clients.

“We also hold the view that an effective BMS would go a long way in aiding the fight against corruption as it minimises the interface between officers and clients and leaves little room for them to exercise discretion,” she said.

Another challenge the Department had faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has been an increase in movement of people through illegal entry points into the country especially during the initial phase of the lockdown.

She also said staff members were exposed to the disease and were not being tested regularly.