Cutting bureaucracy: People in Yei County get passports locally
Obtaining a passport has long been a daunting task for locals, who would have to travel about one hundred miles and spend up to two weeks to get their documents.
Earlier this month, however, the Commissioner of Yei, Juma David Augustine, ordered the Ministry of Interior to issue identification locally, cutting down on bureaucracy.
Most of my people could not afford to get these documents.”
Most of my people could not afford to get these documents. It was expensive in terms of transport, food and lodging while in Juba. I had to work on this issue so as to stop this. Finally... you can get your documents here,” he said.
For many it took over two weeks to get their documentation: A long process which started with getting residential and birth certificates and ending with the passport. Costs like accommodation and food would mount while they waited.
I was lucky. It took me one full week to get the national identity card, in Juba, in June of last year,” Neimah said.
Neihmah, who declined to be identified with her full name, said she spent a lot of money on transport and board until she got the paperwork and returned to Yei.
But now, the time and costs involved in getting these personal documents have been slashed. These days, anyone wanting to get their documents only has to pay the fixed costs for each of the papers.
But some, including local authorities, fear that issuing passports locally could open the door to corrupt practices.
Bashir Elenana Bodo, Team Leader of Migration, National ID and Passports in Yei, March 11.
Yei County is made up of some sixty tribes. Some of these groups span neighbouring countries like Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This could mean that non-locals who speak the Kakwa dialect, widely spoken in Yei County, could obtain the South Sudanese legal and personal documents.
It is believed these people (like Acholi, Kakwa) of South Sudan and those in Uganda and DRC were, at one point, the same people. But they only split and scattered to different countries when colonial powers drew up the borders.
Residents of Yei County welcomed the local authorities’ plans to move the team from Juba to Yei. The process of moving is underway. Government employees will be dealt with first, followed by students and then the general public.
Bashir Elenana Bodo, Team Leader of Migration, National ID and Passports, said the service was valuable for locals who are already hard-pressed for money. But only time will tell if local authorities can carry out their new task smoothly.
