Zvamaida Murwira — Holders of Zimbabwean and SADC e-passports will quickly be capable to stroll into Zimbabwe by means of a scanner on an digital gate with out queuing or the involvement of an immigration official, as a part of measures to take away bottlenecks, delays and improve promotion of ease of doing enterprise, legislators have heard.
Immigration principal officer Mr Oscar Chitsa mentioned the Immigration Division was engaged on a border administration system that may see these holding Zimbabwean and Sadc e-passports served swiftly at e-gates the place they are going to have their journey paperwork scanned electronically with out going by means of the rigours of lengthy queues related to ports of entry skilled at locations such because the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Worldwide Airport and the Beitbridge Border Publish, particularly throughout public holidays.
Mr Chitsa was giving oral proof earlier than Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Business and Commerce, who needed to know what the Border Effectivity Administration Committee was doing to deal with the benefit of enterprise surroundings at ports of entry.
The committee chaired by Buhera South MP, Cde Ngoni Mudekunye, was involved over delays by each cargo and passengers at some factors of entry and exit.
“We’re engaged on a brand new border administration system, which we can be launching this 12 months and can present effectivity at factors of entry,” he mentioned.
“We are going to introduce e-gates. I can affirm Harare may have a minimal of 4 of those. These will cater for our nationals and people from Sadc with e-passports.
“It means the immigration counters we at present have will now serve foreigners, from outdoors Sadc and people with out e passports.
“These holding new passports will not have to undergo the immigration officers. That may carry effectivity at our borders.”
The roll out will begin with busy entry factors similar to Harare, Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Beitbridge and Chirundu.
Mr Chitsa mentioned they’d additionally launched digital visa software, e-permits and have digitised data and data methods to minimise delays.
“We’ve a visa system by which everybody coming to Zimbabwe requiring visas will apply whereas nonetheless at their house nation as a way to keep away from bottlenecks on the level of entry.
“The e-visas will see our guests apply for visas on-line whereas of their house nation previous to travelling. The system is already functioning.
“Additionally, you will realise that our system has quite a lot of paperwork that was additionally inflicting delays. To cope with that we’ll introduce on-line kinds to get away with the paper-based system.