Joseph Chirume
Pilot programme has seen about 60 e-passports processed daily since 21 June and the Zimbabwean Consulate says it is extending the initiative indefinitelyA Zimbabwean father who lives and works in Gqeberha says for
the first time in years he will be able to apply for documents for his children
locally through the Zimbabwean e-passport pilot programme.
Garikai, currently a Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holder,
says two of his children have been struggling to get documents for years, while
his youngest, aged six, was born in South Africa and is also undocumented.
Next month, Garikai will join many Zimbabwean nationals
living in South Africa to apply for the Zimbabwean Consulate’s e-passport in
Johannesburg. In a statement on 15 June, the Consulate announced its rollout.
The introduction of e-passports will help people like the
Garikai’s family to make trips across the border without fear of immediate
arrest for being undocumented.
Garikai told GroundUp that he is raising the money needed to
travel with his children to Johannesburg during the school holidays so that
they can get their e-passports. “Two are attending high school and the schools
have been demanding their passports. It is very expensive to travel to Zimbabwe
for that,” he said.
A return bus ticket for one person from Gqeberha to Zimbabwe
is about R3,000, which excludes luggage, while a return ticket to Johannesburg
costs about R1,000.
The cost of the passport is US$150 (about R2,744) with an
additional US$20 (about R365) for each electronic passport application.
The initial pilot period ran from 18 to 21 June, but last
week the consulate announced that it was extending the pilot indefinitely.
According to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa David
Hamadziripi, 60 e-passports have been processed daily since 21 June. They
should take seven days to be issued.
People applying for the e-passport should bring along a copy
of their original birth certificate, original identity documents, and, if
married, their original marriage certificate.
Ambassador Hamadziripi said that they are renovating the
Cape Town Consulate in order to extend the same service there.
Ngqabutho Mabhena, of The Zimbabwe Community in South
Africa, welcomed the initiative and urged Zimbabweans to take advantage of it.