28 Jun 2022

True to the spirit of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) that government and SADC signed early June, the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs on Monday issued its first biometric passports to the regional blocs’ three top executives.

Labour and Home Affairs Minister, Ms Annah Mokgethi said when handing over the passports to SADC Executive Secretary Mr Elias Magosi, and his deputies, Ambassador Joseph Nourrice and Dr Thembinkosi Mhlongo for Corporate Affairs and Regional Integration respectively, that turnaround time was at most three days.

The minister hoped the e-passport would end problems that SADC officials often encountered at points of entry when travelling within the region. Said Mr Magosi when appreciating the effort:

“This development is also in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation standards, [as it] has security features that will be difficult to copy.”

He added the document would enable the Secretariat to effectively discharge its duties.

The e-passport also took away the burden of carrying manual documents, “where at times we had to carry two passports”, he said. Mr Magosi expressed satisfaction at the Ministry’s promptness in honouring the MoU so soon after its signing.

The MoU followed instruction, five years back, of SADC’s council of ministers for its Secretariat to migrate its passport to the biometric one to combat identity fraud, as well as strengthen national and international confidence in the bloc’s travel document. ENDs