By A Correspondent- The government has said that the production and printing of passports will soon increase following the availability of machinery and printing paper.

The assurance was made by the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Ambassador Cain Mathema, during a tour of the passport production department today.

The Ministry of Information today posted a video which revealed over 92 000 passports booklets at the Registrar General’s office that are still waiting to be printed.

In July, Mathema revealed that the passport backlog dates back to 2018. He also projected thatin “two to three weeks”, the situation would have improved.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that the total number of passports produced nationwide is 250 against a demand of 3000 daily. Harare Registrar General offices are reportedly producing an average of 12 per day.

Some passport seekers were being told to check for their travelling documents in 2022.

This has resulted in some officers at the Registrar General’s office asking for huge kickbacks from desperate passport seekers.-StateMedia