Breaking News: Immigration Department Hit By Passport Shortage!!

Immigration PRO Inspector Olimatou Jammeh  Clarifies

By Wise Man, Our Chief Western Region Correspondent

The Gambian Immigration Department (GID)  has been sharply criticized for its snails-pace  in issuing  passports to Gambians. According to confirmed sources GID is currently grappling with passports shortages  as a result it  issue only ten passports in every week, leaving hundreds of applications unprocessed.
 
Many disgruntled Gambians who spoke to Freedom Newspaper  accused the staffers of the  Immigration Department of ineptitude . "There is lots of bureaucratic red tapes and corruption at the Immigration. I think the President should extend his Operation No Compromise Policy there" said an aggrieved Gambian who prefers  anonymity.
 
 
  In an interview with our correspondent,  GID's Public Relations Officer , Inspector Mrs Olimatou Jammeh confirmed that her agency is at present  hit by passports shortage. She explained. " In the beginning of this year  we received a total of 30,000 passports applications , but to our  surprise and disappointment we  found out that some people apply and get up to  three valid passports while other are left without one".
"At the end of the day passports are finished before the required
date of  ordering new consignment, as result this interrupts our work a lot."
 
Mrs Jammeh however noted  GID is poised to come up  palliative measures  to track down on those in the habit of holding more than one valid passport. " She said  it is unacceptable and a punishable crime for  any one to retain  two or three valid passports.
 
Asked why they now issue only ten passports in every week, she replied:  " My department  came up with this  measure  to issue  ten passports  per week for the mean time and  and these passports we issue go only to people with emergency and senior government officers going for official missions overseas." she disclosed.
 
PRO Jammeh lamented  that  some  would-be travellers are fond of throwing their passports when they applied visa and they are denied. She added that her Department alongside other sister security services including the Police, the National Intelligence Agency, and Customs would be  working  collaboratively to  fish out  those holding two valid passports and bring them to book for them to face full weigh of the law.