By JOHN SAKALA
Home Affairs Minister Steven Kampyongo says Zambia has started the process of modernising the issuance of passports to electronic ones in a bid to easy the movements of people in the SADC region.
Mr Kampyongo said Zambia has so far engaged the Republic of South Africa to formulate frameworks that will allow authorities to easily facilitate the movements of people and goods between the two countries.
Speaking in Pretoria, South Africa, Mr Kampyongo said preparatory engagements between the two countries to modernise passports to electronic passports follows the establishment of a bi-national commission which was recently signed by President Edgar Lungu and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa.
He said a memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed soon once the consultation process is finalised.
He noted that the modernisation of civil rights registration and electronic passports will spur development in the SADC region as skills transfer among countries will easily be facilitated especially among the youth.
Mr Kampyongo has since called on some Zambians living in South Africa who do not have adequate immigration documents to legalise their stay in that country in order to avoid inconveniences once the electronic passports come into operational.
The Minister is in South Africa to hold bilateral talks with his Home Affair counterpart and Minister of Police in that country as a follow up process of some of the agreements which were recently signed during South African President’s visit to Zambia.
This is according to a media statement made available to The Independent Observer by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in South Africa Naomi Nyawali.
