The State Department of Immigration and Citizen Services under the Ministry of Interior, has announced four new measures to curb the ongoing delay in passport processing.
Appearing before National Assembly Committee on Regional Integration on Tuesday, July 25, Principal Secretary, State Department for Citizen Services, Julius Bitok explained that the government had procured two upgraded technology personalisation printers with a capacity of printing 250 passports per hour.
According to the PS, the introduction of printers is expected to significantly alleviate the pressure within the department, which has resulted in a substantial backlog of over 60,000 pending applications.
He further disclosed that the government plans to address the funding challenge by utilising the Appropriations in Aids (AiA) agreement to secure the necessary funds for this initiative.
This comes in two forms; donor grants or revenue collected directly by agencies through services fees and charges. Bitok added that the request for the funding had already been approved by Treasury.
The third solution involved increasing the number of staff working on passport applications and working on decentralising passport services to all counties to hasten the process.
The final measure was facilitating Kenyans living abroad to acquire their passports in Kenyan embassies in foreign countries by sending more officers abroad and increasing mobile outposts.
He ascertained that the Ministry would continue to monitor the situation and take further action if needed.
The statement came months after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki reassured Kenyans that the passport backlog would be cleared within 21 days.
"We will make sure that once the printer is fixed, all new passport applications will be received in seven working days while those in emergency need of the document will receive them in 48 hours," the CS stated on June 1, 2023.
However, three weeks after his promise, Kenyans were still reporting significant delays in passport processing. The government attributed the delay to a breakdown in the printing machine and a shortage of essential materials.
The government urged Kenyans to exercise patience as it worked on resolving the matter.
