New passport tech to be deployed across S. Sudan| By Michael Daniel

The Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration says it has introduced new technology aimed at reducing long delays in the processing of passports and national identity documents.

Director General Major General Elia Costa Faustino said the directorate has received five advanced production machines, including two for passports and three for national identity cards, along with 100 mobile registration kits to be deployed across the states.

According to the directorate, the upgraded system will digitally connect state offices with headquarters in Juba, allowing faster transmission of data and enabling some services to be processed locally.

Faustino said shortages of passport materials have eased, with 100,000 nationality cards already delivered and additional passport booklets expected soon.

“If people observe now, the number of people here has reduced because everybody who processes his document, either nationality or passport, receives it after one or two days,” Faustino told reporters on Thursday.

He added that a large portion of the backlog built up over the past year has now been cleared, with applicants expected to receive their documents within one or two days.

The Director General said the number of people waiting at the directorate has reduced significantly as processing becomes faster.

Despite the improvements, the directorate said unreliable electricity supply in Juba continues to affect efforts to operate the machines around the clock.