HARARE – Zimbabweans based abroad will pay for new passports in foreign currency, the latest redollarisation move by the government which made its new currency the sole legal tender in June.
Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe said a serious foreign currency shortage meant that the country is unable to import the special ink and paper used in passport production.
The country has been failing to process 359,288 passports since August last year, Kazembe said. The $53 Zimbabwe dollar fee for an ordinary passport is now worth just over US$3 after the local currency lost value.
In a statement on Monday, Kazembe said: “The ministry is aware of the high expectation from members of the public for timely provision of service delivery particularly in the area of issuance of travel documents.
“The ministry is also aware of what citizens are going through, especially those living abroad whose passports have expired.
“As a way of assisting the Civil Registry Department to attend to requirements for passports by citizens in the diaspora, the government has therefore authorised the department to charge US$318 for passports, in respect of those in the diaspora. The applications will be prioritised on agent basis.”
Despite the abolition of foreign currencies as legal tender in June, many companies continue to peg their goods and services in the United States dollar as the Zimbabwe dollar continues to slide. Preferential rates are offered to individuals buying in hard currencies as the rejection of the local currency grows.
The government has also progressively been redollarising. Customs duties are paid in foreign currency and petroleum companies and tourism firms, including hotels, have been allowed to charge in foreign currency.
