Govt to issue new passports - official

By Devota Mwachang`a

Tatu Burhan

The government, through the Immigration Department, is planning to issue new travel documents to replace the current ones by making their security features more sophisticated.

This was revealed on Monday by the department’s Public Relations Officer, Tatu Burhan, when speaking to The Guardian at the ongoing 38th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF).


She said the national passports have been misused by both owners and those who get possession of them through illegal ways.

She noted that the exercise to change the documents is expected to start this financial year and is aimed at giving enough time for Tanzanians living abroad to change their passports.

“Our office provides ordinary passport to any Tanzanian who meets the required qualifications. Some people apply for passports for different reasons such as travelling for medical treatment, business, schooling or to attend religious conclaves. But after reaching their destinations, they opt to misuse them,” she said.

She explained that some passport owners go to the extent of forging features of the travel documents for the purpose of misusing them.
“There have been cases where lost were never recovered because those who appropriated them often forged the security features,” she said.

She warned against the use of middlemen to secure the travel documents.
“I would like to urge Tanzanians who wish to apply for the new passports that they should not use middlemen believing that by doing so they would get the documents easily. I am asking them to kindly explore the opportunities offered by this trade fair to get education on how they can get their new passports in only two days,” she said.

Due to the malpractice, she said, the Immigration Department has found itself in a situation where it ‘indirectly’ produces illegal immigrants, despite the fact that, they legally own passports.

Since independence, the government has changed the national travelling documents three times. The coming exercise will therefore be the fourth one.

“It is well known that the technology system to be used will be relatively expensive, so the department’s plan will depend on the budget allocated for it for the 2014/15 financial year,” she said.

Burhan said since 2005 the Immigration has started issuing Machine Readable Passports, a requirement by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that they should be readable by any computer system worldwide, she said.

The department issues Ordinary, Service, Diplomatic as well as East African Passports.

The change of the travel documents will not be confined to the ordinary passports, she said, adding that the East African Passports are also lined up for change.

In a related matter, she said, the Immigration Department has suspended and in some cases reshuffled officials who in one way or another have been discovered to have collaborated in the forgery of travel documents.