Registrar-General short of cash to produce passports

By Tichaona Sibanda
30 November, 2006

The man largely credited for helping Robert Mugabe ‘win’ elections against all the opposition parties has run out of money to issue new identification cards and passports.

As the regime fights against all odds to keep the country afloat, many state enterprises including various ministries are now slowly sinking due to serious foreign currency shortages.

The World Bank recently described the country’s economic situation as the worst in the world outside a war zone. Political analyst Bekithemba Mhlanga said reports that the Registrar-General cannot issue passports because of foreign currency shortages is a disaster.

‘This is symptomatic of how deep-seated the problem is in Zimbabwe. Everything is falling apart. The rail system has collapsed, many state enterprises have collapsed and this signals the end days of a failed state,’ Mhlanga said.

ZimOnline reported Wednesday that Tobaiwa Mudede, Mugabe’s chief election rigger-general, has now suspended the issuing of identity cards and passports altogether because there is no hard cash to pay foreign suppliers of the special ink and films used to produce the documents.

ZimOnline saying they have shortages of chemicals to develop films and are expecting to be able to resume issuing these documents in January quotes one official.

ZimOnline added that Mudede, whose department is the government’s documentation nerve centre and also provides materials such as ballot papers during elections, was yesterday said by his office to be busy attending meetings and unable to take questions from reporters.

Due to insufficient funds, the registry office had stopped issuing metal identity cards and had replaced these with cheaper plastic cards. But now they have stopped issuing these as well. All adult Zimbabweans are required by law to have identity cards.

The registry office is only issuing passports to senior government officials and sick people wishing to travel outside the country for treatment.