The government will soon triple the number of passports produced daily.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday announced that the new printers will greatly improve the number of passports produced in a day.
"We have ordered for new printers and once they come we will triple or quadruple the number of passports we will be printing per day," he said while addressing media at Nyayo House.
The ministry had revealed that the cases of machine breakdowns and delays in the procurement processes of booklets had led to the backlog of passports.
The CS had disclosed that there was an existing backlog of slightly over 58,000 passport applications, with a printing capacity of about 5,000 passports daily.
As a result, the government initiated plans to lease new machines from private investors because buying new ones is costly.
"The historical backlog that had accumulated over many years because of poor printing equipment, low investment and corruption has been technically resolved," the CS said.
According to Kindiki once the new machines are acquired, the government will start issuing passports within the shortest time.
To ensure the country's security is not compromised through the new arrangement, Kindiki said the leased machines will be housed at the Government Printer and operated by state officials.
The CS said the lease arrangement will mirror the current medical equipment programme between counties and the national government.
