(Last Updated on December 16, 2021 by zimdaily)
HARARE – The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has issued an ultimatum to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Affairs Kazembe Kazembe over the expiration of traditional passports.
Following the introduction of the electronically readable passports (e-passports) earlier this week, the government announced that current traditional passports will expire on 31 December 2023, regardless of the date of issue.
This announcement did not go down well with some Zimbabweans who lamented that the e-passport had been introduced with no notice or prior warning. Many highlighted that they recently acquired the current passports for US$318 within the last few months/years and will now be forced to replace these passports at their own cost two years from now.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights raised these same issues with Minister Kazembe Kazembe. Writing on social media, the lawyers said,
We have written a letter to Home Affairs&Cultural Heritage Minister Hon. Kazembe Kazembe telling him that his decision to make the current passport non-operational & non-functional by 31 December 2023 is grossly unreasonable as many citizens had obtained or renewed their current passports & had parted with hefty sums of money in paying the prescribed passport fees.
We told him that it is grossly unreasonable & unfair to impose an obligation on current passport holders to apply for an e-passport by December 2023 even when their current passports still have many years running before their expiration date. We said this is a violation of the right to administrative conduct which is substantially fair & reasonable & hence is a breach of Section 68 of the Constitution.
current passports & had parted with hefty sums of money in paying the prescribed passport fees.
We told him that it is grossly unreasonable & unfair to impose an obligation on current passport holders to apply for an e-passport by December 2023 even when their current passports
— ZLHR (@ZLHRLawyers) December 16, 2021
Lawyers Issue Ultimatum To Minister Over Expiration Of Passports On 31 December 2023
Lawyers Issue Ultimatum To Minister Over Expiration Of Passports On 31 December 2023
The lawyers also queried how CBZ bank had been selected and given a virtual monopoly for handling the US$20 passport processing fees.
The lawyers also queried how CBZ bank had been selected and given a virtual monopoly for handling the US$20 passport processing fees.
[harare live]