ARUA.
For many years, people from West Nile spent exorbitantly to obtain passports, as the nearest centres were in Gulu and Kampala.
However, there was a sigh of relief on Thursday as the Internal Affairs Ministry opened the first centre in Arua city to cover the West Nile area, bringing an end to the cost and time spent in acquiring the much-needed item.
Mr Jamal Andama, the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Arua city, recalls how they faced challenges conducting business with the neighbouring countries due to travel challenges
“For many years, we used to get passports from Kampala, and it could take like a year, with very many processes involved.’’
Adding that; ‘’Sometimes you could lose money to scammers. It was also very expensive due to the many associated costs,” Andama said.
Mr Andama is appreciative of the government, noting that, “Personally, for my family, I obtained passports from the regional office before this official opening, and it only took about four days for them to get their passports. The system is very good and cost-effective, and the team is professional.’’
To acquire a passport, one applies online, comes to the office for enrolment, has the application processed, and the passport is collected from the same office after 4 to 7 days.
Ms Julia Ikaso, the project manager at the National Citizen and Immigration Control, appealed to regional leaders to sensitise their people to use the regional offices to save them from travelling long distances and their associated expenses.