Get passports, regularize your stay and respect South African laws – The Zimbabwe Mail

The Government of Zimbabwe has urged its citizens living in different parts of South Africa to prioritise the acquisition of official documents to regularise their stay and comply with the legal requirements of their host country.

On Thursday, IOL attended the official opening of the new Zimbabwean consulate building in Johannesburg, located in Bruma.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Frederick Makamure Shava, told the meeting that the new consulate will issue passports, including e-passports, and birth certificates that will enable Zimbabweans residing in South Africa to acquire documentation.

“On 18 June 2024, in this building, we started the implementation of the platform for delivering e-passports to our citizens abroad and I am pleased to have started in South Africa. I am pleased to inform you that the system test we conducted with e-passports was a great success.

“The e-passport processing centre located in this building enables Zimbabwean citizens here in South Africa to apply for and obtain this essential document much more conveniently and quickly, without intermediaries. The trial ends today with the official launch of the project. The centre has successfully processed a total of 2,146 e-passport applications,” said Shava in his opening remarks.

“My fellow Zimbabweans in South Africa, I urge you to access these services and ensure that you have the necessary documentation to reside and work in this country. By respecting and abiding by the laws of this country, you will contribute greatly to the good name and image of Zimbabwe, here and abroad, particularly given the links between Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa.”

An electronic passport, e-passport or biometric passport is an international travel document containing identity details such as the holder’s photograph, passport number, first names, last names, nationality and date of birth, as well as an electronic microprocessor chip containing additional information about the holder, including fingerprints, photographs and signatures.

These biometric passports are scanned through special devices to reveal additional information about the holder, and experts say these documents are much more effective and reliable against passport fraud, compared to traditional passports.

The newly inaugurated Chancellery building was handed over to Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to South Africa, David Hamadziripi. The centre is managed by Zimbabwe’s Consul General in Johannesburg, Eria Phiri. The illustrious occasion was attended by a delegation of Zimbabwean Cabinet Ministers and several diplomats, including China’s Consul General in Johannesburg, Pan Qingjiang.

Hamadziripi stressed that his government’s official policy is that all its citizens who are on the other side of its borders must have the necessary documents, including birth certificates and passports.

He said the Zimbabwean Consulate in Cape Town is being renovated and e-passports will also be produced in the future.

“I therefore urge Zimbabweans in South Africa to come to the consulate (in Johannesburg) and apply for birth certificates and passports to ensure that they meet the minimum requirements to regularise their stay in this country,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Local Government and Public Works, David Garwe, told the gathering that the handover of the building was an auspicious event that brought services closer to the people.

“Today also demonstrates that while much work is being done at home, the government is mindful of the needs of our sizeable diaspora communities, who also deserve the same comforts enjoyed by those who stayed at home.

“It is a testament to the spirit of the second republic to leave no one and no place behind in our transition to becoming an upper-middle-income nation by 2030,” Garwe said.

He officially handed over the building to the Zimbabwe Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe, told attendees at the glamorous event that the e-passport centre set up in Johannesburg was a first for Zimbabwean missions worldwide.

“The Ministry of Interior and Cultural Heritage, through the civil registration department, has embarked on a programme to decentralise e-passport services, and this flagship initiative is in line with the objective of modernising the economy through the use of ICT (information and communication technologies) and digital technology as we move towards achieving Vision 2030,” Kazembe said.

“His Excellency, President Dr ED (Emmerson Dambudzo) Mnangagwa, directed that we take services to our people living beyond our borders. In fact, he mentioned this a couple of years ago. Today, we are here to fulfil that directive, to ensure that no place and no one is left behind.”

Kazembe said that in recent years, the number of Zimbabwean citizens travelling and residing in different countries around the world has increased significantly “due to better integration with the global economy”.

On the other hand, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, in a message delivered by Ambassador Tebogo Seokolo, Deputy Director General responsible for Africa, said that the new foreign ministry will improve the movement of people, goods and services, as well as accelerate regional integration.

“We welcome the opening of the e-passport processing centre in our country, one of five centres in the world. We believe that the opening of this centre will improve the movement of people and goods, as well as services between our neighbouring countries.

“We meet at a defining moment in South Africa’s history as we celebrate 30 years since the birth of our democracy in 1994. I am equally pleased that this year we are also celebrating 30 years since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between our two countries. Our frequent and ongoing interactions augur well for the resolve to further foster our existing relations,” Lamola said.

“In this regard, the opening of this chancellery is as important to us as it is to the people of the Republic of Zimbabwe. I take this opportunity to congratulate you on the opening of this beautiful property and the launch of the e-passport.”

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