An open report to the Hon. Minister of Home Affairs
Honourable Minister,
I write this message not from an office desk, but while standing in a queue at the passport office — a queue that should not exist in this age of technology. Allow me to begin with a disclaimer because this country is so political that even genuine feedback is easily misconstrued for politics. The issue i am adress here did not start in your term of office but it must be adressed now. I am not a politician and neither do I intend to be one so I ask of you to consider this open report objectively.
My wife and I have been processing a passport for our son, DNK Junior, and the experience has exposed a shocking level of inefficiency and mediocrity in this institution.
Yesterday, my wife and I arrived at 14:00 hours to submit the application form we got the other day, only to be told that the section thay receives forms had already closed. How can a government office that serves thousands daily operate like a shop that keeps half-day hours? Citizens deserve more and better sir.
This morning, we went to pay for the passport. Knowing how chaotic the main Indo Bank branch in Cairo Road is, I suggested we use the quieter Civic Centre branch. To my surprise, we were told that passport payments can only be made at one bank, at one branch — the very branch where daily scenes look like a political rally, with people pushing and pulling just to pay. In 2025, is it logical to restrict payments to one bank, one location, and force people into endless queues?
It gets worse. There is a thriving business of middlemen who exploit this chaos, offering to “fast-track” services for desperate citizens. Meanwhile, elderly people, pregnant women, and mothers with babies stand for hours in the scorching sun, with no seats, no shade, and no dignity. Yesterday, what saved my wife and child from standing too long was the mercy of a security officer. But should access to a government service depend on someone’s “mercy”?
Honourable Minister, I must ask:
1. Are you aware that this is happening every single day?
2. Does the head of the Passport Office ever pass through these congested lines to witness the disorder?
3. Why is payment restricted to only Indo Bank, and worse still, to a single branch? The arrangement is suspicious and indefensible.
Sir, this is not a small inconvenience. The people who queue at the passport office are among the most productive in our nation — business people, professionals, academics. No one applies for a passport to go and idle. Yet we treat them like they are begging for a favour instead of accessing a right.
It is also illogical that the Passport Office is located next to the Bank of Zambia, where citizens waiting outside are treated like potential criminals by armed police, simply because they are not allowed to sit or stand in certain areas. Why not move the office to a location with adequate space, parking, and proper seating facilities? Why not decentralize payments to all banks — or better still, provide online payments like the rest of the world?
These changes are not rocket science. For less than K10,000,000, Zambia could have a modern, efficient passport processing system. What is lacking is not money, but willpower. One officer recognising me asked if he could help me get my things done fast without queuing I respectfully thanked him for his kindness but turned down the offer because what of the people that are not known?. What of the people without money to pay the middle men? So we have been here from 08hrs and now it is almost eleven and we are not even in the building yet. Still outside standing and hoping. What a shame.
Honourable Minister, this situation is unacceptable. It reflects a culture of mediocrity that we as citizens have wrongly normalized. But we cannot continue this way. Zambia must learn from best practices around the world.
We do not need foreign consultants or donors to tell us that queues in the sun, cash-only payments, and outdated systems are wrong. We need leadership that values its citizens enough to deliver basic dignity in service and I believe you good office can deliver that. The President is passionate about unlocking bottle necks to trade etc.. Sir this is a bottle neck to business and work. How many man hours are lost at the passport office.
Sir, I urge your office to take decisive action. The Passport Office is not just inefficient — it is a shame to our nation and an exampleof what should not be in 2025.
Respectfully submitted,Dr Daniel Ngombo Kabani