The Immigration Department has introduced extended business hours to speed passport applications amid a rising backlog attributed to corruption and sabotage.
As a result, the department will now start receiving passport applications from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. with two shifts deployed to support extended business hours.
Immigration Department Acting Director General Evelyne Cheluget noted that the move will depart from the prevailing 8 a.m.-5 p.m. working shift.
“We are working hard; the passport section has been working on shifts. We have dedicated counters for urgent cases and all regional heads to boost staff in the urgent counters,” she said.
It is estimated that about 60,000 passport applications are pending owing to the frequent breakdown of the printing machine and the need for printing booklets.
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For instance, National Identity card processing takes three years in parts of the country.
The National Assembly has opened an investigation into the alleged cases of graft and backlog of passport applications.
Further, in a recent report, the department has indicted the Ombudsman, revealing several injustices and malpractices, including over-charging of applicants.
In a hearing with a House Committee on August 24, the Interior Cabinet Secretary described the Nyayo House passport center as a crime scene and vowed to wage a vigorous war against passport cartels he accused of sabotage.
Cheluget simultaneously announced the upcoming reforms.
During his testimony before the House Committee on Regional Integration, Kindiki commented and singled out corrupt officials as the main obstacle to reform.
“We have officers there who take bribes while they are supoosed to give Kenyans free services. I will clean up Nyayo House once and for all. We will seal off Nyayo House and name it a scene of crime,” he stated.
Kindiki disclosed that while measures have seen passport processing rise to 5,000 per day (day and night), the current backlog stood at 58,000.
“Some of the challenges we have including insecurity and terrorism, could be as a result of corrupt elements at Nyayo house. If you go to Wajir, 21-year-old applicants are waiting for IDs for 3 years now.”
