President William Ruto has declared that processing of passports will be fast-tracked on a need basis.
Speaking during the opening of the 19th Ambassadors and High Commissioners Conference in Nairobi on Saturday, March 28, the president observed that Kenya had exported labour to various markets across the world.
He cited the value of the Kenyan human capital, noting that over 540,000 jobs had been created for Kenyans abroad.
According to him, the government had worked to weed out fraudsters who had taken over the system.
"We also decided that because we have one of the best human capital in the world, we use it as part of our export. We are cleaning up the channel for accessing jobs overseas. We had to clean up the system because we had too many agencies and brokers who defrauded people of their money. We are still reorganising that space," he said.
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The president added that any Kenyan with a job opportunity can get their travel documents within 48 hours.
"With what we have done, we have also cut down the time for accessing travel papers, including passports and what have you. We have a clean channel for people with employment opportunities abroad. Today it takes two days for those with employment abroad," he said.
Months ago, the government addressed the delays in issuance of the passports.
Government Spokesperson Issac Mwaura explained that passport issuance delays were due to the slow supply of 34-page passport booklets, clarifying that the booklets are printed abroad for security purposes.
Mwaura assured the public that a shipment of the booklets would be en route in time and arrive in the country in good time.
In the meantime, he encouraged Kenyans with urgent passport needs to apply for the 50-page version, which costs Ksh6,050.
He further acknowledged challenges faced by young people in obtaining national identity cards, following a court order that halted the production of third-generation IDs.
Mwaura noted that the government has appealed the ruling and intends to resume large-scale production once the appeal is successful.
