The government has cleared a massive backlog of 724,000 pending passport applications that had piled up between June 2021 and March 2024, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki announced on Monday.
Kindiki said 684,500 of the delayed passports have already been collected by applicants after funding bottlenecks, supplier debts, and corruption cartels were overcome.
In a statement, Kindiki outlined a series of measures taken to dismantle the barriers that had crippled passport issuance services. “It took a bit of time to get exchequer funding, pay pending supplier debts, dismantle the corruption cartels, and acquire and install modern, high capacity printing equipment,” he said.
With the backlog now resolved, the government is turning its focus to expediting services for new applicants. “Going forward, all new applicants will receive their passports within 21 days from the date of application, while urgent cases will receive theirs immediately,” Kindiki stated.
He revealed plans to further reduce waiting times to 7 days effective August 1st, 2024, and just 3 days from November 1st.
The Interior Secretary inspected passport production facilities, registry and archival sections during his visit, underscoring efforts to “sustain the production and delivery systems” for long-term efficiency. Engaging with applicants, he sought ideas to further improve services.
“What remains now is to fastrack the collection of 39,500 ready but uncollected passports from the backlog lot… and create system efficiency in archival, record management, registry and IT management,” Mr. Kindiki said.
The elimination of the long-standing passport application backlog is expected to facilitate easier travel for Kenyans and boost the country’s appeal as a regional business and tourism hub. However, sustaining the improvements in the long run will depend on entrenching efficiency and integrity across the immigration department’s operations.
