STATEMENT BY FRED MITCHELL MP MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ON DELIVERY SERVICES AT THE PASSPORT OFFICE
I would like to alert the public to the fact of serious challenges at the passport office which will result in delays in the delivery of passport services during the summer. The waiting time I am advised is now on average six weeks from the time of application, up from four weeks.
I am advised that the reason for this is the combination of the rush for people to replace their handwritten passports with electronic passports which is mandated by an international agreement and the expected summer travel rush. I have met with the management of the passport staff and we are making several attempts to ease the situation.
The Minister for the Public Service has agreed to enable officers from across the service to join the passport office for this period and to assist in the creation of a two shift system in order to speed up the process.
Please note that if passports are required on an emergency basis, for example for health reasons, there is a procedure to deal with such genuine emergencies.
Secondly, we will work with the Ministry of National Security to help keep order at the passport facility in Nassau. In this connection, I would ask the public to be patient and not be abusive to the staff.
I have also spoken to the managers at the department and asked them to reorient their own thinking to a more customer focused outcome.
During the coming weeks, I will again report to the public on the progress of the changes. I hope to be able to report an improvement in the delivery times.
I regret this turn in events.
Thank you.
