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Concerned citizens’ countries wide have spoken against government’s decision to raise passport fees by 320 percent.
Government recently increased Normal passport fees from K15, 100 to K48, 000, Express Passports from K25, 000 to K58,500 ready in 5 days and an Emergency Passport from K35,100 to K85,500 ready in 2 days. This development for some people consider abnormal.
Justifying the move Chief Immigration Officer Hudson Mankhwala said the hike of passport fees is timely.
Mankhwala told reporters that the increase was supposed to be done a long time ago to meet production costs of the passports.
Mankhwala added that hike will work as an automatic sieve that will see only serious applicants of passports applying a development he said will reduce congestion that has been a long time hiccup at its premises.
However one citizen said: “The increase of passport fee is inconsiderate bearing in mind that the margin is too wide. It is abnormal to triple passport fees from K15, 100 to K48, 000.We are not happy about it. The problem is not an increase, but the gap is too big,” Shukrani Kamwendo from Chileka said.
Another citizen speaking on anonymity said that it seems as though government is using the money to fund the zero-aid budget.
“It is clear that the government is indirectly raising money in order to run its affairs due to the zero-aid budget. The blame should go to government and not immigration because it is just implementing what the government has told them,” said the concerned citizen.
