Harare-The Zimbabwean Government has with immediate effect increased passport fees. Applicants for the traveling document were advised of the increase on Monday morning.

An ordinary passport had been going for RTGS $53 and has increased ten folds to RTGS $530 including the form.

For those in need of an emergency passport that will take three days they will have to part with RTGS $3 180 and an urgent passport that will take three weeks will be pegged at RTGS $ 2000.

The move according to sources has been necessitated by the high cost of production.

“Just like what they did on the diaspora where they are now charging USD 318 for an emergency passport. They want to cushion the high production costs,” said the source

An applicant who had gone to top up for his passport said the increase came as a shock to him.

“I had applied for an ordinary passport last month with the intention of travelling during the festive season. I had to apply for an emergency passport and was told to make a top up of RTGS $200. Today I wanted to make the payment I was told of the increase it eventually ended my hope of travelling” said Josiah Mangena of Chimanimani

The Zimbabwean government has not issued identity documents within usual waiting times since the beginning of the year. Applicants are forced to wait for more than a year to get passports that would normally take six weeks to be issued.