By Lerato Ndhlovu
The minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Honorable Kazembe Kazembe yesterday said that solar energy is a perfect alternative source of energy to improve services in public institutions that have not been spared by load shedding exercise currently going on in the country.
during his tour of Mashonaland West’s Registry and Police Service departments, the minister stated that the issue of electricity which are affecting the departments is beyond their control and certain measures are supposed to be taken by them as the authorities.
Addressing the provincial Registry department, Minister Kazembe said: “Some of the challenges you are facing here are beyond your control especially the issue of electricity. We have already discussed this with the Registrar General so that he may consider installing a solar system.
“The equipment you use here is not power-hungry, you should be able to use a solar system which is way cheaper as compared to buying fuel and repairing of generators.,” he said.
Makonde District Registrar, Mrs Peddia Tsotsoro said the inaccessibility of resources needed in the processing of identity cards, led her office into scaling down the production of plastic national identity cards to 60 per day and creating numbers for the remaining people to come back and be served the following day.
Responding to questions, Minister Kazembe said the prices of passports had not been increased contrary to other reports.
“People working or staying in the diaspora wishing to renew their passports were expected to part ways with foreign currency and receive first preference as it was a basic requirement for them in a foreign land,” he said.
“In all fairness, prices for passports are not sustainable and its the honest truth. It was $53 when it was one to one with the US dollar when it was announced in 2009.
“It has been ZWL$53 regardless of the fact that the two currencies are no longer at par yet the consumables are imported and the government has been subsidizing all along.
However, identification cards and passports are a human right hence the subsidy by the government,” the Minister said.
“Though unrealistic, the passports have not gone up, they are still pegged at ZWL$53 for the general passport because it is a process (of increasing the price) as we can’t just wake up to increase the prices without following proper procedure.”
Minister Kazembe said although there was a need to increase the price of passport and other identification documents to meet production cost, human rights consideration were also in play although discussions for possible increment were still going on.
The two provincial departments(Police and Registry) are also facing inadequate vehicles, staff and office space
The Provincial Birth and Death Certificate offices, upon arrival of the Minister, was on halt due to unavailability of electricity and scores of people, some of whom had travelled from the outskirts were scattered outside waiting for assistance.
