Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday launched the country’s first electronic passport with promises to close the huge backlog his government has at hand.
With over 250 000 people are on the passport waiting list, corruption at the civil registry became rampant as passport seekers pushed to cut corners to obtain Zimbabwe’s most sought-after document.
At the official launch Mnangagwa said the new passport is “critical for Zimbabwe to keep pace with the dynamic and ever-changing technological environment.”
In line with pursuing digital technologies, Mnangagwa said his government entered into “a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer partnership with a Lithuanian company, Garsu Pasaulis UAB,” which has already set up a production plant at Makombe building for the production of the new passports.
The key features of the passport include-an electronic cover with a chip, a security thread fully embedded in the inner booklet pages as well as unique pages chronicling a story about Zimbabwe’s rich cultural heritage and tourist attractions.
The new passport will be cheaper than the current one with an ordinary passport now taking only seven working days to be issued out at a cost of $100 while and express passport will take around 48 hours to be issued out at a cost of $200.
What is an e-passport?
An e-passport, electronic passport or biometric passport is the international travel document with identity details such as passport number, name, surname, nationality, and date of birth, as well as an electronic microprocessor chip containing data such as fingerprints, photos, and signatures. Biometric passports are scanned through special devices.
E-passports, together with the codes developed, are much more effective against passport fraud than traditional passports. E-passports, a new biometric passport containing all the information available in traditional passports, are designed to lighten the workload at passport checkpoints.
Thus, in line with the International civil aviation organization, countries the world over have a deadline of December 2023 to cease the use of passports that are not machine readable.
But who are these new players?
On its website Garsu Pasaulis boasts of being “one of the largest and most modern printing-houses in Lithuania; it is one of the leading commercial printers in the Baltic States and is also a leader in terms of security printing. The company has been in operation since 1994 and is well known both locally and internationally.”
The company also boasts of several endorsements from international organisations including Interpol which cleared it to carry out security printing and production of, among many other products, passports, Identification documents, drivers’ license, solutions for trade mark and certificates.
Among its certifications include the information security management system (ISMS) of Garsų pasaulis, certified in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 27001 standard.
“The purpose of this management system is to ensure that the informational resources, information processing tools, and information of clients and the Company are used and managed so as to preserve confidentiality of sensitive information, protect the information from illegal intentional or unintentional publication, disclosure, modification, destruction, or loss.”
Gasu Pasaulis has vowed that it intends to refurbish the country’s provincial passport offices so that they become fully operational by June 2022.
The company has also targeted 15 international embassies where there is a concentration of Zimbabweans to be refurbished and begin to issue passports.
“We want to refurbish 15 embassies where there are Zimbabweans who need to renew or apply for new passports.
“Zimbabweans abroad should not travel back home to apply for a new passport. That should be done from wherever they are,” a representative of the company said.
Tackling the backlog… as government remains optimistic
Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe, said Garsu Pausaulis has already shown its readiness to tackle the backlog in the coming three months.
It was a cabinet decision and their expression of interest was endorsed. Government is happy with the development especially given that the company will issue e-passports. I was informed that once the production commences then passports costs will be cut by 50%,” Kazembe said.
“We are happy that we now have a lasting solution to the passports problem. It is a reputable company with contracts in 27 countries. Currently they are bringing in equipment and the good thing is that they have already commenced helping us in identification cards production.”
Asked why the contract was awarded without going to tender, the Kazembe said: “The company expressed its interest and it was a win-win situation for government because we are not going to pay anything. Such specialized security printing contracts do not go through tenders. They are given national project status and only those companies that meet specific qualifications are given the job.”
“In fact, government will be getting revenue on a 50-50% basis with the company.
“Vision 2030 has necessitated the Ministry to spearhead e-governance as enshrined in the National Development Strategy 1 document. This is the testimony of how the Second Republic seeks to improve people’s lives as they will easily have access to modern e-passports,” Kazembe said.
He also said that Zimbabwe, like many other countries is working to beat the International Civil Aviation Organisation deadline of December 2023 to stop using passports that are not machine readable.
“We are working towards meeting that deadline. You will see many countries like Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and others will also be rushing to meet the deadline,” Kazembe said.
