The ministry of home affairs has announced that a new stock of travel documents has arrived, with 32-page passports valued at E152 now available in adequate numbers to meet public demand.
In a statement issued yesterday, Principal Secretary Nhlanhla Nxumalo said the ministry would, however, print passports only upon client request as part of efforts to manage a backlog of unprocessed applications that accumulated during months of supply shortages caused by unprecedented delays.
Nxumalo said applicants who submitted passport applications during the shortage were encouraged to submit collection requests at the service centres where they originally applied.
He said passports would then be ready for collection after five working days at the same centres.
Applicants requiring urgent processing have been directed to make their requests directly at the ministry’s headquarters in Mbabane.
“The ministry is committed to clearing the backlog of passport applications within the next four weeks,” said Nxumalo.
He further advised new applicants to use service centres across the country so as to reduce congestion at the headquarters and improve service delivery.
Nxumalo said all service centres, including some tinkhundla centres, would resume providing travel document services from yesterday, contrary to the ministry’s earlier March 20 statement which had centralised services at the headquarters due to limited stock.
The ministry also thanked the public for its patience and cooperation, reiterating its commitment to providing timely and efficient passport services.
