"We are overwhelmed by applicants," passport office cries out

The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control has decried the high numbers of people seeking to go abroad, saying their passport processing system is now clogged.

The directorate said that they now print over 2,000 passports everyday and by the look of things, the number is rising daily.

"By January, the number had already exceeded the pre-Covid-19 levels and by March, this number has grown three-fold, almost more than three times,” said Dr Benon Mutambi, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Internal Affairs.

“The pandemic has created a hangover for our services and an increase in demand for passports. Due to job losses, Ugandans have decided to seek employment abroad and this has brought pressure  the service from 1000 to 2100 passports per day.”

By 8am in the morning, the lines at the ministry’s offices in Kampala are already overwhelming, Mutambi said, adding that they have been forced to print more passports daily,.

Mutambi said they are now looking at opening branches in Mbale and Gulu to ease the load on the Kampala office.

"The Mbarara centre is already operational. Mbale and Gulu are expected to be open in May and June respectively,” Mutambi said,

Mutambi said that the ministry is also planning to open up another office in Kampala for only passport pick-ups to ease on the lines.