Zimbabwean registrar-general, Clemence Masango, has announced that the government is set to increase the price of passports in an effort to raise enough foreign currency to produce the documents.
The decision is also aimed at addressing the backlog of over 300 000 applications by the end of next year’s first quarter.
In July this year, it was reported that Zimbabwe had run out of passports and vehicle registration number plates, forcing citizens to wait for long periods to obtain them.
Masango said that the process was underway and that ultimately the final say on the adjustments was up to the Treasury.
He also said that they had increased the production of passports from 2000 to 4000 per day. Masango said that he remained optimistic that the backlog would be cleared by next March.
As part of an effort to end the chronic cash shortage currently plaguing the country, Zimbabweans were restricted to new two and five Zim dollar notes last week.
However, customers remained frustrated as banks maintained their $20 withdrawal limit and coins failed to be delivered on time.
