Kenyans who urgently need to leave the country for educational, medical or work reasons but do not have a passport can now go to the newly established urgent counters at Immigration and have their applications fast-tracked.
In addition, the department will increase the number of staff at all immigration points to streamline services and minimise the long queues that have become ubiquitous at entry and exit points.
These are some of the measures announced by Immigration Director-General Evelyn Cheluget during her maiden meeting with staff at the department’s headquarters in Nairobi on Monday (August 28) morning.
Acknowledging the challenges facing her department, particularly in the area of passport printing, Ms Cheluget said they are ushering in a new era of efficiency in the department and that she expects nothing but commitment, hard work and teamwork from the staff to achieve her mandate.
With the creation of the urgent counters, some staff will be transferred from other areas to the passport section to speed up the processing of the vital document.
These additional staff will help ensure that passports are printed on a continuous basis throughout the week and will be crucial in the department’s plans to reduce the huge backlog of over 58,000 passports.
“From today, we will be deploying staff from each of our sections to increase the number of people in the passport section... We have special counters for urgent cases. All regional heads should increase the staff at the urgent counters. We have already increased staff in the passport section here in Nairobi,” said Ms Cheluget.
These special counters, the DG said, will cater for clients with urgent cases.
“We have sick people, students and people who work in other countries. I encourage them to come to these counters and be processed. They must come with the necessary documents, including proof of urgency,” she said.
In the new order, all Immigration staff will be required to wear their official uniforms and name tags at all points of work (headquarters, airports and border posts).
“I know you have not had uniforms for the last three years. What little you still have, please wear your uniform. You will also be given name tags. Let us be identifiable wherever we are... ,” she said.
The early morning meeting was also attended by airport staff, who were urged to be patient as the ministry works on increasing staff numbers.
“We are increasing staff by the end of this month. We will have extra staff at the airport to deal with the long queues and we will also be able to work 24 hours a day. The government is relying on our service and commitment to serve Kenyans and foreigners,” said Ms Cheluget.
Following reported cases of malpractice, including bribery, at Immigration, Ms Cheluget reminded staff that there are laws that govern how they should conduct themselves.
“We are accountable to Kenyans and we are governed by the laws of Kenya, the Constitution of Kenya, especially Chapter Six. I want us to focus and stick to our core mandate; issuing travel documents, manning our borders and managing foreigners in this country,” she said.
