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'We are trapped': Zimbabwe's economic crunch hits passports
Source: Associated Press
‘We are trapped’: Zimbabwe’s economic crunch hits passports
By FARAI MUTSAKA
June 15, 2019
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — With Zimbabwe’s economy in shambles and political tensions rising, leaving the country seems the best option for many who are desperate for jobs. But those dreams often end at the passport office, which doesn’t have enough foreign currency to import proper paper and ink.
A passport now takes no less than a year to be issued. An emergency passport can take months amid a backlog of 280,000 applications, never mind recent ones.
Zimbabweans at the main office in the capital, Harare, have taken to sleeping in line for any chance at being served the following day — and that’s just to submit an application.
Several million Zimbabweans already left for neighboring South Africa and other countries during years of economic turmoil under former leader Robert Mugabe. The hardships have only deepened under current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over after Mugabe’s forced resignation in late 2017.
The new government’s slogan “austerity for prosperity” now has a bitter ring.
-snip-
By FARAI MUTSAKA
June 15, 2019
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — With Zimbabwe’s economy in shambles and political tensions rising, leaving the country seems the best option for many who are desperate for jobs. But those dreams often end at the passport office, which doesn’t have enough foreign currency to import proper paper and ink.
A passport now takes no less than a year to be issued. An emergency passport can take months amid a backlog of 280,000 applications, never mind recent ones.
Zimbabweans at the main office in the capital, Harare, have taken to sleeping in line for any chance at being served the following day — and that’s just to submit an application.
Several million Zimbabweans already left for neighboring South Africa and other countries during years of economic turmoil under former leader Robert Mugabe. The hardships have only deepened under current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over after Mugabe’s forced resignation in late 2017.
The new government’s slogan “austerity for prosperity” now has a bitter ring.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/217ddb22679a4c2f881f0d1e2391239c
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