Kenyans to Wait Longer for Passports; Here’s Why

Kenyans will have to wait longer for their passports following a delay in processing for the next three months.

Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok on Tuesday, July 25 told Members of the National Assembly that the delay in passport processing is due to a pending Bill of Ksh.580 million for purchasing of passport booklets from a Pakistani company.

According to the PS, the delay, which has been persistent, will last up to November, before normal operations resume.

“The current backlog was created by a pending Bill of Ksh.530 million that was ear-marked for purchase of booklets for the financial year2021/2022 but was re-allocated to other areas by the previous administration.” Julius Bitok said.

Furthermore, Bitok told the MPs that apart from the pending bill that was re-allocated, there is Ksh.31,572,200 that is owed to a company which provides the Automation Fingerprint Identification System and the servicing of the machines.

The PS went on to explain the technological breakdown in the offices, the two-edged e-passport printing machine and laser engraving machine which has since been fixed.

“Two-edged e-passport printing machines with a capacity to produce 800 passport per day broke down in April due to age, a factor that aggravated the backlog as replacement could only be procured from the manufacturer in Germany,” The PS said.

Moreover, the PS claimed that the problem started two years ago when the government focused on Huduma number and forgot about the issuance of passports.

Also Read: Kenya’s Passport Ranks 9th in Africa in Latest Report

Current Passport Processing 

Currently there are 31,456 passport applications, 18,009 are at the recommendation stage, 39,295 are at the approval stage and 88, 295 exported applications.

Therefore, there are 177,599 applications against the 100, 064 passport booklets currently in stock.

However, the PS told the MPs that the two machines have been repaired and they are currently processing 3,000 per day against a demand of 4,500.

Also Read: Passport Delays Caused by Printer Breakdown

Additionally, Bitok noted that there are two teams working at night to produce 1,500 and another during the day to produce 1,500 passports.

“We are doing everything possible to clear the backlog. The department has already started the procurement of an additional 305,000 passport booklets,” the PS said.

The department also opened a communication channel to assist Kenyans with urgent need to travel on grounds of medical, sports, work, academics, or official duty.