Government has denied the existence of backlogs in the processing of passports, birth certificates and national identity cards, despite growing complaints from citizens struggling to obtain the critical documents.
This emerged in the Senate when Matabeleland North Senator Sengezo Tshabangu questioned the Home Affairs ministry about delays in the issuance of identity documents.
Tshabangu said the delays had become a national concern, particularly for children who are being denied enrolment in schools because they do not have birth certificates.
“There is a huge backlog for passports, national identity cards and birth certificates in the country,” Tshabangu said.
“What mechanisms are you putting in place to ensure citizens exercise their constitutional right to identity?”
In response, the Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage minister, Kazembe Kazembe said he was not aware of the backlog.
He said the government cleared passport processing delays through the introduction of new technology and electronic passports.
“To be perfectly honest, up to this stage, I was not aware that there is a backlog. I am hearing it for the first time,” Kazembe told the Senate.
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He cited the rollout of e-passports and the Zimbabwe Population Registry System (ZPRS).
He said government’s long-term goal was to enable citizens to apply for birth certificates and passports online in real time.
“Where we are going is that people will be able to apply for their birth certificates and even their passports online in real time,” Kazembe said.
However, the minister acknowledged that recently there were challenges in the issuance of birth certificates, attributed funding constraints and resource shortages within government.
“I am aware that we have had challenges recently of people failing to get their birth certificates on time due to circumstances which were at the time beyond the ministry’s control,” Kazembe said.
At the peak of a passport crisis in 2022, the Civil Registry Department faced a backlog of over 300 000 passport applications, with some citizens waiting for 12 months.
In 2021, despite the introduction of e-passports, the backlog hovered around 150 000 due to shortages of consumables and foreign currency. A birth certificate backlog has also been severe.
In 2023, an estimated 80 000 passport applications remained unprocessed for over six months, while national identity card backlogs affected predominantly rural provinces including Matabeleland North, Masvingo and Midlands.
Mobile registration exercises have only reached a fraction of the estimated 1,5 million undocumented children nationally, according to available statistics.
