Home Affairs Minister, Stephen Kampyongo says Zambia has started the process of modernising the issuance of passports to electronic ones in a bid to easy the movements of people in the SADC region.
Mr. Kampyongo says Zambia has so far engaged the Republic of South Africa to formulate frameworks that will allow authorities to easily facilitate the movements of people and goods between the two countries.
Speaking in Pretoria in South Africa, Mr. Kampyongo explained that preparatory engagements between the two countries to modernise passports to electronic passports follows the establishment of a Bi- National Commission (BNC) which was recently signed by President Edgar Lungu and his South African Counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.
He stated that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed soon once the consultation process is completed
Mr. Kampyongo noted that the modernisation of civil rights registration and electronic passports will spur development in the SADC region as skills transfer among countries will easily be facilitated especially among the youths.
He has since called on Zambians living in South Africa who do not have adequate immigration documents to legalise their stay in that country in order to avoid inconveniences once the electronic passports come into operational.
The Home Affairs Minister is in South Africa to hold bilateral talks with his counterpart and Minister of Police in that country as a follow up of some of the agreements which were recently signed during the South African President’s visit to Zambia.
This is according to a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at Zambia’s High Commission to South Africa, Naomi Nyawali.
Will this government add a tax to these passports?
Sorry to ask but the trust between citizens and government has been broken.
They will cost $1million in Zambia.
I am not making sense out of this story. How different will these passports be from the current ones?
“He has since called on Zambians living in South Africa who do not have adequate immigration documents to legalise their stay in that country in order to avoid inconveniences once the electronic passports come into operational”
What about Zambians living in other countries(other than South Africa) who do not have adequate immigration documents, to use the Minister’s words, they shouldn’t worry? Only those in South Africa?
Let’s guess how much the project will cost? $3-billion? $6-billion? If a fire wheelburrow cost $42-million.
Will it be given to Chinese or Lebanese or to Tasila? Lebanese & ratsa have collected K13.5 million from speed fines in 1 week from Lusaka motorists.
Kabila gave tender for electronic passports to his own sister.
Its just another PF00Lish scheme to overtax our malnourished, unemployed citizens.
The Lebanese of Congo are the biggest crooks. They were running the speeding fines racket in Congo and kabila was is major share holder.
The information thus far is those Lebanese in Congo engaged their lamise Lebanese counterparts in Zambia to start bribing lungu and pf.
This ended with kabila coming to get lungu on board and award the RATSA partnership to them.
That is the corruption triangle regarding the lebanses , kabila , Lungu and RATSA.
Another scheme of stealing from Zambians. What is so special about Zambia to start such an undertaking in the midst of poverty.
If the President will be sleeping or ‘praying’, as we are told in a meeting in South Africa when he travels using such an ELECTRONIC PASSPORT, then such passports should not be introduced. We want a president who is awake and/or ‘not praying’ in an important meeting where he is representing our country. He can sleep at State House or State lodge (where we pay for his upkeep) and pray at the Cathedral of the Holy cross or any other church of his choice but not in an important meeting!
Lungu has become a liability to the Zambians and the DUNUNA reverse fraternity as things are. I can understand why the police woman who was caught with the corruption money at a road block could not give it a sh!t. The police woman is a hero by letting the world know the extent of corruption in Zambia. She is a mere reflection of the bigger picture and that is the point she was making. The woman has to be celebrated for letting the world know the state of the Zambian systems at all levels. Lungu and his pratts are the biggest scum ever to grace the beautiful country. Everything they do represents their lack of shame.
Upnd is = to bitterness and jealous
Is zambia a province of ‘South Africa?
Has the policewoman in the traffic police bribery video really committed suicide as widely circulated on WhatsApp ?
If it costs $1 million dollars, it is fine because that is change to what HH took.
Electronic or digital passports. Those passports will be full on virus, will be rejected on EU entry port…. with selfie pictures.
Piii piii nothing detected!!! Call your Home Affairs minister.
@nostradamus
Hahahahah kekekekekek! , anyway I believe you, everything you say about PF usually comes to pass
This midget boy Stephen Kampyongo is too ill-qualified to be in a sensitive ministry like Home Affairs….I mean how can honest senior Police Officer take a former Katondo Currency Dealer seriously? but then again his boss is out of his depth.
Hatribes Utd HaNegatives playing at 9.
what is an electronic passport or what are its features , advantages etc? How can someone leaving illegally in SA legalize his stay?
I hope this won’t be just another money making scheme.
We already have machine-readable passports which have significantly reduced use of fake passports. Our problem is NRC. So many duplicates.
I think we are going around this whole issue in reverse mode. First, we needed to get bio-mentric NRCs. Then everything else follows, including passports.
This is just another broke PF money laundering scheme.
Soon everyone will be required to have one by law……
How much will they cost ? K500.00 for your new passports boys and girls.
Nafuti nafuti sontapooo….
It is an electronic Zambian passport alright …aka convenient passport unto corruption by GRZ officials.
Watch the corrupt pf government “zindaba soko” this exercise too . For those who are slow the new term for corruption and theft is to zindaba soko something
Alya mwibala ,mu electronic passport ya mwibala.
Look at old hen Bo Inonge wasting time in Ankara when the Turkish lira has dropped more than 40% against the dollar since January — and the worst may be yet to come…but our old hen is still begging without shame!!
The lira may devalue by that figure but the mega business houses and investors are looking at other areas to invest their money. Talk of private sector badala it is still viable.
Shares of businesses exposed to Turkish banks are nose diving …you really think private firms are not affected..really laughable!!
What’s of concern are the fees attached to these changes, citizens have been ambushed from all angles. There are astronomical fees almost everywhere, teachers, doctors, nurses, business houses, motorists, and whoever are being charged fees that don’t reflect the economic status of the nation. Soon Godfridah Sumaili might introduce registration fees for the clergy! What a country!
@WANU NGWEE; if the news is true; then it is very sad and her blood will be on the young former stone throwing boy Lusambo; in the first place; she was not alone; but Lusambo and PF media just mentioned her name; i don’t condone what the cop did; it is a reflection of Lungu and PF; Lungu and PF including Lusambo have stolen millions; yet they’re still walking free on our streets while this cop is seen as more evil than those who have stolen millions;
whats the point? either I’m getting dull or this article leaves more questions than answers.
Things change except the law of change.
Don’t do this usual nonsense of decreeing a blanket renewal. Renewal to electronic as passports expire. Kanshi mwaba shani mwe mbwa mwe!? Some of us just renewed our passports, adding bribes too to get them issued early enough even after paying for express!!!!! Awe mwe!!!!