BUJUMBURA March 10th (ABP) – The Minister of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Mr. Martin Niteretse, organized, on Thursday March 9, 2023, in Bujumbura, a visit to the General Commissionership for Migration to ensure that travel documents such as laissez-passer and others are being produced.
The Minister indicated at the end of the visit that he noticed a progress in relation to the production of those documents because the General Commissioner for Migration ordered booklets which arrived on time and production has started again, he said.
He also indicated that he visited the production workshops and found that there was success in relation to the challenges announced and that people who requested documents until September 16, 2022 must come and collect them because, he revealed, they are available at the General Commissionership for Migration. Mr. Niteretse said that there is a huge demand for those documents, of which 40,000 people have already requested appointments and 11,000 people have already paid.
In that way, he indicated that 500 documents will be produced per day to reduce that demand, and those who have already paid will have their documents in no more than 22 days. For those who have not yet paid, the Minister indicated that they will be gradually invited to pay at the same time as the production of those passports.
Minister Niteretse did not fail to point out that the pace of work reassures that it is beneficial for everyone while specifying that from Monday March 13, 2023, there will be production by quotation. He specified that three teams will be set up (noon, afternoon and midnight) to facilitate production in order to deal with the lamentations of the document seekers. He also let it be known that the general commissionership for migrations indicated that there are people who act as intermediaries (commissionaires) between the document seekers and the police. Minister Niteretse let it be known that whoever is caught will be taken as a criminal and will be punished.
He took the opportunity to point out that anyone who wants a document will personally come to the General Commissioner for Migration to make the request except in the event of illness, and for minor children. He underlined that for the latter, the request will be made by their own parents.
Regarding emergency management, Minister Martin Niteretse indicated that those cases will be handled by the Commissioner General for Migration through a handwritten letter sent by the applicant and which will be submitted to the secretariat for a request for a special derogation with a view to issuance of passport. Online applications are not admissible, he said.