The government has revealed that the delay in passport issuing is due to the unavailability of 34-page passport booklets.
Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said the scarcity was caused by the supplier's tardy delivery of the booklets.
He said that a shipment of the books is on its way and will arrive in the country "soon."
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"Kenyans have complained of delayed issuance of passports and I wish to confirm that the problem is being addressed. The problem has persisted because of delayed supply of the 34-page passport booklets," said Mwaura.
Mwaura noted that passport paperwork is often printed outside the country for security concerns, with only the applicant's bio-data page printed locally upon application.
He recommended anyone needing an urgent passport to obtain the 50-page document, which he claims is currently in plentiful supply and costs Ksh.6,050.
"A consignment of the booklets is on the way and will land in the country soon and the problem will be a thing of the past. In the meantime, those with urgent needs for a passport are advised to apply for the 50-page passports which are in plenty," he said.
Mwaura stated that the government is also aware of the difficulty qualified youth face in obtaining identification cards.
He claimed he was prompted by a court order that halted the production of the third-generation Identity Cards.
"An appeal has been made on the case. As we speak 600,000 applications for the cards are pending at the civil registration offices countrywide even as some other 684,000 IDs lie uncollected by the applicants across the country," said Mwaura.
" I affirm that once the appeal is granted the government will embark on massive production of the vital identification documents with the aim of clearing the backlog within the shortest time possible. We appeal to those yet to collect their documents to do so, in order to avoid inconveniences in their official as well as private transactions." he added.
