Major David Basile, Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities and Engineering Jean Osselin Lambert, Director of the production system of passports to the Directorate of Immigration and Emigration (DIE), dispelled the rumor suggesting a rupture in the production of Haitian passports.

David Basile acknowledged that passport production system experiencing a slowdown due to desuetude of some equipment of IT park of the DIE, about 45 machines and servers that have reached their maximum capacity after 11 years of service. Minister Basil took the opportunity to announce that the Ministry of the Interior had already begun the process of renewal of old equipment to ensure regular production of the travel document.

A replacement that will also allow to respond to the recommendations of the Organization of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), competent body of control and validation of passports in the world for the production of electronic passport that will be officially put into operation in the world, from 2015. However, the equipment will not suffice without the ratification of the law on electronic signatures [blocked in Parliament for very many months], essential for the transition to electronic passports, more secure.

In addition, the Minister of the Interior and the System administrator of passport production officially announced the establishment of a single window program, under the leadership of the Ministry of Interior, in collaboration with the ONI and the National Archives. This program established thanks to the agreements reached on Immigration, whose with the Dominican Republic, will consist to provide the necessary response to the problems of identification of Haitian in neighboring Republic and especially in other Caribbean countries by providing them with identification documents and of travel...

Major Basil recalled that a team had been dispatched to Surinam to test the pilot single window concept, which will be either mobile or housed at Haitian Consulate or in an office clearly identified in foreign land, in order to provide in very short time, the basic documents: national identification card, passport and Extract from the Archives.

In addition, the Minister informed that a series of additional measures designed to improve the quality had been established in the country. Also, in addition to the online application centers in Cap-Haitien, Les Cayes, and the Centers for reception of applications and delivery in Gonaives, Jacmel and Port-de-Paix, the Production centers in Port-au-Prince and Washington will be strengthened. Similarly, a second window will open soon in Port-au-Prince to relieve that of Lalue. In addition, about 5 reception centers will be placed in the Dominican Republic.

According Engineer Lambert, the objective of these rearrangements, is to increase the production capacity of passport of more than 25% annually, with an annual production that will exceed the 300,000 passports by the beginning of 2015, against 210,000 in 2013.

HL/ HaitiLibre