With around 400 people turning up each day, the Passport Office has been stretched to the limit and Minister of Citizenship, Winston Felix has made a series of proposals to overhaul the system including making the office semi-autonomous and civilian-run.
Felix made the disclosure in a letter to yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek in reply to two missives in this newspaper from GHK Lall who had expressed concern about the conditions for passport applicants.
In recent weeks there has been a surge of applicants resulting in long lines spilling onto the road outside the Camp Road passport office. As a result of the large numbers that were turning up, Felix disclosed in the letter that he had instituted a numbering system with a cut-off point. This has meant that people – including some from out of town – have had to be turned away and told to return the next day.