The delay in passport printing is having a far-reaching impact on Kenyans seeking to travel abroad. Those seeking to acquire passports have encountered difficulty for more than two months since a printer broke down at Nyayo House in Nairobi.
The Immigration Department has yet to repair it and those looking to obtain a passport have been stuck with limited options.The machine that still works is capable of printing 34-page passports, and while the department had received the booklets necessary for printing the 66-page and 50-page passports last Friday, those seeking the larger documents will still be left disappointed by the timelines for obtaining them. Though the category C passport with 66 pages costs one Sh7,550, the category A 34-page document charges Sh4,550 while the category B 50-page document costs Sh6,050.
At the moment, the Immigration Department is faced with a dilemma due to the lack of modern printing equipment. “We need to invest in modern printers to sort out the problem,” said one of the sources at the Immigration Department on condition of anonymity. “Unless we upgrade the printers, we will still suffer in terms of backlog in the coming days.”
Clearly, such an industrious approach is necessary for the state to provide its citizens with an efficient passport-printing service. Without it, delays in issuance will continue to be a major headache for Kenyan travellers. Additionally, the department’s failure to respond to inquiries on why it has taken so long to fix the printer does not bode well with citizens seeking quick solutions.
Immigration Factory in High Demand and Low Production
It recently came to light that the Immigration Department of Kenya, normally prints 1,500 passports per day, which sharply does not meet the existing demands for new passports. This can be attributed to the rising number of travellers departing the country on a daily basis. Aside from this, the department is still struggling to catch up to printing a backlog of 300,000 passports, waiting for processing.
As the demand for passports becomes increasingly high, the government is now required to invest in the latest printing technology in order to keep up with the mounting demand and expectations. The Immigration Department, in response to queries made concerning the situation, failed to respond despite numerous reminders sent.
In light of this, the State Department for Interior and Citizenship Services released a statement reminding those in urgent need of passports to contact the department and provide proof in order to receive faster service.
To make matters better, only a month ago Kenya received a consignment of 100,000 passports, due to be dispatched earlier in the year. As a result, Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok was optimistic in the fast service thereafter, prompting Kenyans to apply for passports, with expected improved efficiency and reduced delays.
The government of Kenya, in its efforts to increase passport production in further action, should ensure the right investments are made to have in store more technologically advanced printers that can facilitate faster speed of delivery in passport processing.
The Immigration system can become more efficient, however, much of the burden lies on the investments of the government. While the recent increase of 1.5 times the production of passports has been promising, it is clear that this number cannot compete with the exponentially increasing demand. If the government fails to adequately invest, the current backlog of passports may only increase further, making it even more difficult to catch up with the current backlog. If Kenyans have to provide proof of urgency, the government should make sure to give equal priority to all applications.
The delays in the issuance of passports caused by low stock levels have now been addressed, with Mr Bitok urging allKenyans who have applied for their passports to come and pick them up. The process of issuing passports has been made more efficient, and with the lifting of restrictions on travel due to coronavirus, the number of passports processed and issued is expected to increase significantly.
