The government through the spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has explained the reason behind passport delays and offered a solution to urgent passport applications.
According to Mwaura, there is a shortage of the 34- Page passport booklets in the country thus causing the delays in printing and producing passports to overwhelming number of kenyans.
“The shortage has been caused by the slow delivery of the booklets by the supplier. The documents are usually printed outside the country for security reasons leaving only the applicant’s bio-data page to be printed locally upon application.”
Alternative for kenyans going for Urgent Passport Application
Mwaura offered an alternative to kenyans who want urgent passport application to apply for the 54-page passports which cost Ksh6,050, as opposed to the 34-page passport that cost Ksh4,550.
This he explained that the pages of the 54-page passports are in plenty and they can be produced faster as compared to the 34- page that takes time and has so many applicants going for it at the moment.
“In the meantime, those with urgent needs for a passport are advised to apply for the 50-page passports which are in plenty.”
Explaining about the backlog of the passport delays, the spokesperson said that a consignment with the 34-page passports would arrive in the country in the coming weeks, assuring to solve the problem permanently.
“A consignment of the booklets is on the way and will land in the country soon and the problem will be a thing of the past.”
This comes after the government addressed the delay in passport issuance, noting that the procurement of two additional printing machines had been completed. These machines are expected to arrive by the end of February.
Mwaura also urged Kenyans to pick up the 70,000 passports that are yet to be collected from the immigration offices, promising that an additional 100,000 passports are currently in production.