Price of Zim passports reduced after public complaints
By Tererai Karimakwenda
08 September, 2010
The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that the cost of a standard
passport will be reduced from $140 to $50, with immediate effect. The
reduction was announced at a joint press conference in Harare on Wednesday
by the co-Home Affairs Ministers Kembo Mohadi and Theresa Makone.
For a long time there have been serious complaints from the public about the
fact that Zimbabwean passports cost much more than the regional average.
Applicants also had to wait for extended periods of time for their
documents, and the ministry often ran out of ink and paper. Zimbabweans
found the whole process extremely frustrating.
The cabinet had ordered the ministry of Home affairs to review the prices
back in April, a year after the last review, which resulted in a reduction
then from $170 to the current $140.
The price of urgent passports, which are processed in only two days, will
also be reduced and lost passports will cost the same as new ones to
replace.
Commenting on the Daily News website, writer Chenjerai Hove described the
price reduction as a good move. He said: “Our passports had become some of
the most hated documents in our possession because of their price. Now, for
us in the diaspora, the idea of traveling to the embassies thousands of
kilometers away to obtain a passport form and be photographed should be
attended to immediately.”
He added: “This idea of having to be photographed and finger-printed makes
us feel like criminals belonging to a fascist dictatorial state.”
Hove suggested that the application forms be sent in the mail so people can
complete them and send the required money to embassies, instead of wasting
time and money on travel and accommodation.