South Sudan’s Inspector General of Police, General Atem Marol Biar, has directed Maj. Gen. Simon Majur Pabek, the newly appointed Director General for the Directorate of Nationality, Civil Registry, Passport, and Immigration, to initiate the printing of East African Community (EAC) e-passports within the country.

Speaking at the reception ceremony for the Immigration chief on Thursday, IGP Gen. Marol stated that the passport samples are ready, urging the directorate to commence the issuance of the EAC digital passport.

“We have partnered with a company to print the East African passport, but it faced sabotage by some individuals. Now is the time to begin printing the passports. Our President is the chairman of the East African Community, and this should be our priority. The samples are available, and they need to be printed. You will receive instructions from the Minister of Interior in line with the President’s directive to commence printing the East African passport,” Marol emphasized.

He mentioned that last year’s plan to print the EAC passports faced sabotage from “those opposing progress.”

“Now, with President Salva Kiir Mayardit serving as the Chairman of EAC, it is crucial to proceed with printing,” he said.

“Our President is the Chairman of the East African Community, and we want to avoid any challenges from the EAC. If he is questioned about having the East African Community passport, what should he say?” he added.

In response, Maj. Gen. Simon Majur Pabek, Director General for the Directorate of Nationality, Civil Registry, Passport, and Immigration, acknowledged the passport booklet shortage. He stated, “In this institution, we are dealing with issues related to passport booklet shortages and other hardware and software challenges in ICT. Our team is actively addressing these concerns, and we are devising plans to resolve them.”

The EAC initially aimed to phase out traditional passports by December 31, 2018, but due to the Covid-19 outbreak in 2019, the deadline was extended to January 2021. However, this deadline was not met, prompting member states, including South Sudan, to set their individual dates for transitioning to the new EAC e-passports.

Last year, the directive was given for all EAC partner states, including South Sudan, to start issuing the new East Africa machine-readable electronic passports by January, taking into consideration the preparedness of each member state.

South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016, becoming its sixth member after President Salva Kiir signed an accession treaty in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The East African Community was initially established by Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, with Rwanda and Burundi joining later.