Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe, yesterday went and joined the passport queue early in the morning knowing that in the afternoon he would stand before a Parliamentary portfolio committee which is questioning the state of affairs at the ministry of Home Affairs.
A tout was allegedly arrested for offering the Minister a spot in the front of the queue, as part of the publicity stunt by Kazembe.
A picture is circulating on social media of the tout sitting behind the reception desk at Harare Central police station.
The question is what crime did the tout commit? What will he be charged with and what will he be prosecuted for? Does the Minister have any arresting powers? Does the minister even understand the law? The publicity stunt is an ill timed photo opportunity which does not help the millions of Zimbabweans who are desperately seeking passports.
The tout who was arrested is part of a group of unemployed young people who sleep in the queue, to hold a position so that they can sell the position to the highest bidder.
There is no bribe, or corruption involved with the tout as he has broken no law. The corruption is inside the passport office not outside. Inside people demand fees to facilitate the passport and its production.
Minister Kazembe is barking up the wrong tree going after a tout who is capitalizing on an opportunity. Kazembe needs to be held to account and taking pictures to a parliamentary portfolio committee won’t absolve him of his ineptitude. He has brought chaos to the Passport office and that is a fact.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has failed to resolve the passport backlog and the passport office is currently in shambles.
Ordinary passport applications are suspended and the department is only taking applications for an emergency passport which is taking a minimum 2-3 weeks to process due to queues and high demand.
Kazembe has failed to bring order to the Ministry of Home Affairs. Passports were available and easy to process under Obert Mpofu. Cain Mathema took over and maintained the systems he found in place. The Passport office deteriorated under Kazembe, and the department failed to utilize the Covid-19 lockdown to reduce the passport backlog.
Kazembe is currently the most sued Home Affairs Minister as he faces a handful of lawsuits from various individuals among them Susan Mutami, a Bulawayo family whose brother was shot by the police among others.
Kazembe Kazembe is the worst home Affairs Minister ever and a single photo opportunity outside passport office won’t remedy the mess at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
John Mafirakureva
Pedestrian Observer