Traditional leaders (chiefs) have requested the Government to give them diplomatic passports for ease of travel across borders.
The call was made by Chief Clemence Nembiri of Mt Darwin in Manicaland province during a question-and-answer session at a Civil Registry Department workshop held last Wednesday. He said:
There is a need for chiefs to be given diplomatic passports. At the moment you find that these documents are even given to people whose leadership position is never guaranteed but is at the mercy of either the appointing authority or the people who vote.
Such people may be in power for just a few years yet they are quickly given diplomatic passports but a chief, whose title is neither by appointment nor through the ballot does not have that privilege.
We are harassed at the borders despite the fact that we lead the masses too.
In response, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Major General (Rtd) Dr Gerald Gwinji said:
As a Ministry, we do not determine who gets a diplomatic passport and who does not. That is done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations.
Ours is only to process upon communication from Foreign Affairs that so and so must be a recipient of a diplomatic passport.
However, I will engage and pass on the request and we will copy the president of the Chiefs Council as proof of that engagement.
A diplomatic passport is a type of identity document that is only issued to certain individuals.
The holder can cross international borders while bypassing a lot of the typical travel regulations that regular passport holders must follow.
Source Pindula News
