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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
MATABELELAND North provincial registrar Willard Sayenda yesterday said there is a need to expedite the provision of infrastructure in Lupane to decentralise the issuance of passports. Sayenda told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services during their visit to Bulawayo as part of an assessment of services offered by the Registrar General’s Office countrywide, that Matabeleland North registry officers were still operating from Bulawayo due to lack of accommodation in Lupane.

“Provincial staff are still operating from Bulawayo because there’s no accommodation in Lupane. There’re 32 officers who are supposed to relocate from Bulawayo to Lupane. We’ve approached the Ministry of Local Government on the issue and they’ve said they can’t provide sufficient accommodation for all the 32 officers.

“They’re in the process of constructing 19 houses which are for all civil servants in different government departments and ministries. We would be grateful if the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee engages the government in solving this problem so that we’re nearer to our people,” said Sayenda. He said people residing in Matabeleland North travel all the way to Bulawayo to apply for passports. “Just think of a person based in Victoria Falls or Binga. They’ve to travel all the way to Bulawayo for a passport. That’s a long distance. We need to reduce the distances travelled by our clients,” Sayenda said. “We’ve a district office in Lupane that’s 80 percent complete and people have started vandalising it. We also have new district offices in Binga which are at foundation level. If these projects get funding, it’ll go a long way in reducing distances travelled by our clients,” Sayenda said.