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A House committee has supported the ongoing reforms being undertaken by the Ministry of Interior and Coordination to clear the backlog of passports at the Directorate of Immigration.

The Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo expressed optimism that the reforms will also cut down on the waiting time for new passports.
The committee promised to support the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services to build capacity of staff and to deliver on its mandate especially with regard to the passport issuance process.

“We made a decision to tour this facility due to the many complaints attributed to this State Department. We are concerned that some applications have taken more than a year to be processed. We are further concerned by the allegations of corruption on the passport and visa application processes”, said Tongoyo.

Expressed concerns

Speaking after a fact-finding visit to Nyayo House that hosts the Immigration headquarters, the committee expressed concerns over numerous complaints raised by applicants over the lengthy turnaround before one acquires a passport.

The committee said it is unfortunate that Kenyans, especially students and migrant workers had missed out on opportunities due to the lengthy process it takes to acquire the document.

Following the move, the committee called for urgent implementation of the National Assembly directive to the Treasury allowing Immigration to retain a portion of revenue generated by the Directorate to fund booklets and other recurrent expenses to forestall another backlog.

According to them the move would help expedite the passport acquisition process.
In addition, it also promised to explore the possibility of having the State Department allocated more money during the consideration of the First Supplementary Estimates so as to help the Department meet the demand of over 30,000 applications per month.

Ring-fenced resources

In the current Financial Year, the State Department ring-fenced almost Sh1 billion for the procurement of over 350,000 passport booklets, and for the acquisition of two passport printing machines.

Said Tongoyo: “Once the resources have been availed, the printer is made available and the working force is there, they can be able to do the printing of passports without any problem.”

While supporting the ongoing procurement of additional two printers to boost the printing capacity to over 5,000 passports, the MPs challenged the government to consider setting up mobile passport issuance offices across the country to enable more Kenyans to obtain the document easily.

They called for the crackdown on suspected brokers and corruption cartels in Nyayo House to be extended to Immigration officers abetting the vice.

Four brokers are currently awaiting prosecution after they were arrested in Nyayo house on suspicions of engaging in corruption and fleecing passport applicants.

Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok revealed that the challenges they are facing include lack of passport printing machines and passport booklets all which require over Sh2.7 billion.

The State Department, he said, also has pending bills amounting to about Sh400 million which are threatening to cripple its operations.

Transparent process

When asked to explain the measures they have put in place to ensure processing of passports is transparent, secure, fast and corruption free, Bitok said that they had introduced a night shift that has seen the number of passports printed daily rise from 4,000 from 1,500 booklets.

Bitok however revealed revenue raised from passports had risen from Sh14 billion to around Sh20 bo;;ion buoyed by a surge of applications by Kenyans seeking foreign jobs and further studies abroad.
The Department’s Director General Evelyn Cheluget told the Committee that they had established dedicated counters to cater for urgent cases.

She also informed the lawmakers the Department had established six offices abroad and 12 centres equipped with mobile kits to facilitate the application process. The stations are based in London, Washington, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret and Kisii.