The government has in the last one year generated about Sh17 billion from the printing and issuance of passports locally and globally.
This is according to data from the department of immigration which says that the funds were also generated from the issuance of e-citizen services.
Immigration and Citizen Services principal secretary Julius Bitok said that the money was earned over an extended period of about 12 months.
The PS was speaking while appearing before the National Assembly’s Regional Integration Committee to respond to concerns over the delay in the printing and issuance of at least 88,000 pending passports.
Bitok had been summoned to explain some of the measures that the department had taken to resolve the backlog, which has also been blamed in delay in the issuance of passports to Kenyans and those applying at the department.
In his response however, the PS argued that the delays had been occasioned by a number of factors, including a shortage of funding to the department, lack of e-passport booklets, breakdown of e-passport printers and limited storage capacity.
Bitok argued that despite the department generating close to Sh17 billion globally in the last financial year, most of the funds went to the National Treasury, with little left at the department to run and provide services.
He added that due to the poor funding, the department had been unable to achieve its obligations which include prompt delivery of passport booklets and servicing of the passport printers.
He, however, told the committee that they had come into an agreement with the Treasury that the department will retain Sh1.3 billion for its use starting in the 2023/24 Financial Year.
“The directorate has two aged e-Passport printing machines procured in the 2015/16 Financial Year. Each printer has the capacity to print 800 passports per day. The M2 printer broke down in April requiring replacement of the laser engraving unit that could only be procured from the manufacturer based in Germany. This aggravated the backlog,” Bitok told the Committee.
Consequently, the PS disclosed that the printing machine which had broken down at the department, had been fixed and that the 88,000-passport backlog will be cleared by November this year.
He also told the committee that the turn-around time for passport application will be reduced from the current two weeks to just seven days.
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