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Passport production resumes at full capacity
An official from the Internal Affairs Ministry is seen placing blank passports on a printer at the Ministry's headquarters in Kampala on May 9, 2022. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- The internal affairs ministry expects to clear a backlog of 10,000 pending passport applications from next week.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has resumed full production of passports.
Addressing journalists yesterday, Mr Simon Mundeyi, the ministry spokesperson, announced that next week, they will be clearing the backlog of 10,000 pending passport applications.
“We have now completed the system upgrade, which we have been doing for the last three or so weeks, and this means we have now resumed production of passports at full capacity,” said Mr Mundeyi.
“Anybody who has been complaining about passport delays should now prepare to come for their passports. This week and next week, we shall be clearing the backlog,” he added.
He explained that they are also handling those with emergencies who need the travel document to travel.
“After two weeks, we will embark on the normal applications,” he said.
Last month, the ministry cut production of passports by almost a half in a bid to enable a system upgrade.
This left a number of Ugandans stranded, with many who were applying for express passports that ordinarily come out after at most four days, having to wait for more than a month to get their documents.
However, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ spokesperson, this will soon be a story after the resumption of their operations at full capacity.
Mr Mundeyi said that the opening of new passport centres across the country and abroad necessitated a systems upgrade.
He said the resumption of normal operations of the passports production will see a total of 2,500 passports produced every day in order to help deal with the backlog of applications.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson also warned members of the public against using brokers whom he said on many occasions defraud unsuspecting members with fees higher than the stipulated ones but also don’t deliver.
Mr Mundeyi revealed that having opened a new passport centre in Abu Dhabi to serve Ugandans in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain, a new one will soon be opened in Dubai.
He said more than 100,000 Ugandans in UAE and others in the neighboring countries will have choice on where to renew their passports from with the coming into place of Abu Dhabi and Dubai centres.
