The government could not keep up with the enormous demand for passports from Kenyans, thus the Budget and Appropriations Committee suggested the allocation. Even still, the budgeted amount falls short of the projected $200 million needed to buy contemporary printers.
The budget and appropriations committee noted in its report on the discussion of estimates of revenue and expenditure for the fiscal year starting July 1 that “The State department for immigration and citizen services could not cope with the number of Kenyans seeking passports to travel abroad for other economic opportunities due to inadequate capacity of the current printer, which prints only 900 passports compared to a daily demand of 5,000 applicants.”
After one of Nyayo House’s printers broke down in March and wasn’t fixed by the end of last month, Kenyans seeking passports have had to wait longer for the essential travel documents.
The backlog has grown as passport production has been restricted to a smaller, lower-output machine.
It was previously confirmed from sources at the Immigration Department that the purchase of new printers would be the answer to the backlog.
“It is true that Nyayo House has a problem issuing passports. To solve the issue, we must get contemporary printers. We will continue to see a backlog of work unless we upgrade the printers, a State Department insider said on the condition of anonymity.
The Interior Ministry announced last week that new passport applicants would obtain their travel documents within a week after changes were made to the immigration department, including the replacement of the broken printer.
In the meanwhile, people who urgently need passports will have their travel documents in 48 hours. The backlog of passport applications is currently estimated by the immigration agency to be 42,000.
“Please be patient while we work to fix the malfunctioning printer over the course of the next seven days. On Wednesday of last week, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki remarked, “We will ensure that all new passport applications are received in seven working days after the printer is serviced.
