Former Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Walter Mzembi has thrown his weight behind the introduction of an E-Passport.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa a few ago launched an E-Passport that will replace the current paper document.
The paper document had become too scarce for the ordinary citizens some of who had to sleep in queues at passport offices.
Speaking on the issue, Mzembi said it was a “good move aligning to global travel trends. E-Boards, E-Passports, E-Visas. Just review the cost otherwise on track,’’ he said.
The E-Passports will cost about US$100 for the ordinary and US$200 for the emergency document.
Also commenting on the issue, former Minister of Local Government Saviour Kasukuwere, also urged for a price review and proposed the use of POSB as compared to CBZ Bank.
‘’A review of the cost of this important document is a must. We discussed this matter before and insisted that there is a price review.
‘’I think a bank like the POSB with a national footprint would make it easier for people to access the passport at reasonable transport costs. There are districts where CBZ is not represented, Agribank too,’’ he said.
The current passport will be phased out on the 31st December 2023.
It remains to be seen how the government is going to deal with the matter of people who applied for the passports from as far as 2018 And have not yet received them.
According to the government, it is still owing about 150 000 people passports that were applied for between 2018 to date.
The government claims it is failing to print the passports due to lack of materials to use and the materials requires huge sums of foreign currency which it does not have.
