The Immigration and citizen service, which was established to provide passports and similar citizenship services, has been receiving complaints.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Dr.) has sacked Mr. Bruhtesfa Mulgeta, who was in charge of the immigration and citizenship service for the past one year and half as well as Fraol Tafa and Tamru Genbato, who were serving as deputy directors.
Immigration and Citizenship Service Public Relations and Communication Officer Ms. Mastawal Geda told Al-Ain that we have received a letter stating that Ms. Selamawit Dawit has been appointed as the director general of the institution since July 20, 2023.
She also added that, we have received a letter signed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Dr.) that Mr. Gosa Demse and Mr. Bikila Mezgebu have been appointed as Deputy Director General of Immigration and Citizenship Services.
Before accepting the new appointment, Mrs. Selamawit Dawit was serving as the Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and before that she also served as the head of the Ethiopian Diaspora Agency.
In Ethiopia, especially this year, citizens who want to get a new passport or to renew it are struggling, according to complainants who are looking for services.
If we have clients who have met us at the headquarters of Immigration and Citizenship Services who want to get services, passports are a basic right of citizens, but passports have become a luxury for us.
He told us that getting a passport should have been the easiest thing for the citizens, but they are looking for another service and citizens are encouraged to follow illegal ways instead of the established legal procedures to get a passport.
The Immigration and Nationality Service, on the other hand, is currently issuing passports only to those who go abroad for medical treatment, scholarship opportunities, DV Lottery winners, and employees and leaders who are going abroad for government service.
Why can’t passports be given to all citizens who want passports? In response to our question, he said that, Ethiopia conducts the printing of passports in foreign countries, but due to reasons related to the Covid-19, there was pressure on the organization that was conducting the printing and there was a shortage of passports.
Due to the epidemic, the demand for passport printing decreased due to the reduction of flights from other countries including Ethiopia.
The Immigration and Nationality Service, which says that we are giving some passports in our hands to selected urgent services, has announced that there are citizens who have not been able to get their passports after paying, giving their fingerprints and meeting all the necessary requirements.
The organization ads d that they will soon import passports to meet the demand, responded by saying that since September 2023, they will meet the needs of passport applicants.
