Director of Immigration Services Jane Waikenda has said applicants with
proper documents will get a passport after five days July 16, 2013. FILE
By LUCAS BARASA barassa@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, July 16 2013 at 21:31
Posted Tuesday, July 16 2013 at 21:31
In Summary
- To stem illegal entry into the country, the department is building more border control points as well as revamping the existing ones, Ms Waikenda said.
It will now take only five days for one to be issued with a passport.
The new director of immigration services, Ms Jane
Waikenda, Tuesday said applicants with proper documents would only wait
five days to get passports, down from 10.
Previously, it took more than a month to get a
passport before it was reduced to 21 and later 10 days as the government
put in place the rapid results initiative.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ms Waikenda,
who is overseeing restructuring of the Department of Immigration to
ensure better services, said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission
was also auditing the process and reviewing integrity tests for
officers.
Ms Waikenda (right) initiated the audit and testing “to counter the weak links in the department.”
She said the move was meant to seal all loopholes and counter corruption.
A major reshuffle of immigration officers has also been done to address complacency in the service, Ms Waikenda said.
To stem illegal entry into the country, the
department is building more border control points as well as revamping
the existing ones, Ms Waikenda said.
At the same time, she said, a special counter for
urgent passport applications for travellers going for pilgrimage in
Saudi Arabia and medical treatment had been established.
“This will ensure there are no delays, which may
inadvertently lock out travellers on religious pursuits and will also
encourage applicants not to compromise officers due to the urgency of
the application,” she said.
Ms Waikenda added that a public communications
desk to address all enquiries pertaining to immigration procedures was
being established. The desk will be located at the ground floor on the
North Wing of the Immigration headquarters at Nairobi’s Nyayo House.
She directed all immigration officers to be always
in full uniform with their name tags to guard against brokers and other
con men.
“This will make it easier for the public to easily
identify officers for expedient service as well as dealing with brokers
masquerading as immigration officers,” Ms Waikenda said.
She said the department would open a Twitter and Facebook account to interact and for expedient feedback.
The director called on staff to ensure patriotism and integrity.
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