Story by Gay Matambo
THE people of Mwenezi in Masvingo province have hailed the Second Republic for delivering on its promises following the establishment of an e-passport centre at Rutenga Growth Point.
The e-passport centre which opened its doors to the public in March this year has come as a relief to thousands of people in the district and surrounding areas who were travelling to Gweru or Harare to obtain passports.
“We used to travel to Gweru or Harare to get passports, now that we have an e-passport centre here in Rutenga, we are happy,” said one of the travellers.
“Our children would illegally go to South Africa because they didn’t have passports, but we are happy that we can now apply for passports here and collect the passport in 7 days,” added another.
“It was expensive to travel to Harare for a passport. We now have an e-passport centre here and it’s a welcome relief.”
The centre’s opening aligns with the Second Republic’s vision of decentralising services.
Mwenezi District Development Co-ordinator, Mr Isaac Mutambara said, “It was difficult for people in Mwenezi to obtain passports and worse for those in the periphery areas like Sovelele and Maranda. We thank the government for fulfilling its promises to rural communities. This means the majority of the people will obtain passports efficiently.”
The increasing demand for travel documents fuelled the government’s decision to decentralise passport issuance, ultimately improving service delivery nationwide.
