By Own Correspondent| The government is seriously considering the decentralisation of the issuance of passports.

This was revealed by Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema.

In an interview with the state media, Matema said:

“We are going to decentralise issuance of passport, birth certificate and national identity documents to the lowest district level.

Issuance of passports will be increased because it is every Zimbabwean’s constitutional right to obtain the travel document. The whole administration of systems in the Home Affairs ministry will be computerised.”

Registrar-General Mr Clemence Masango also told The Sunday Mail that by the end of 2019, his department expects to have passport issuance offices operational at Chitungwiza and Murehwa district offices.

Said Masango:

“But we expect to be able to open the Chitungwiza office soon. We have approached the local authority so they can assist with accommodation (for staff).

People will pay the fee online, apply online and then download the form to present it physically to passport offices for capturing of biometrics. This also minimises the chances of corruption.

We get reports of touts who assist people to jump the queue or ask for payment to facilitate quick processing of documents. If the application is done online, we reduce such incidences.”-StateMedia