Obtaining your Congolese passport is not easy these days. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, issuing passports has become a real obstacle course. Whether inside the country or abroad, in Kinshasa or in the provinces, the difficulties are numerous and the wait is endless. The reason for this delicate situation: the printing capacity of passports has decreased considerably, going from 1,000 to 2,000 per month to only 400 monthly.
According to Christophe Lutundula, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Francophonie, the current operator, LOCOSEM, has not renewed its aging equipment, which has led to this drastic drop in passport printing capacity. This situation has caused the accumulation of thousands of pending applications, thus discouraging many applicants. Faced with this worrying situation, the minister asks for the indulgence of the Congolese and ensures that he is working actively to resolve this problem.
The Congolese government has already taken steps to remedy this situation. A new operator should take charge of passport printing from November, replacing LOCOSEM whose contract expired more than 9 months ago. In addition, an order was signed to decentralize the issuance of passports, with the creation of capture centers in several regions of the country, in order to facilitate the process for applicants.
Despite the efforts made, the question of Congolese passports remains a subject of concern for many citizens. Some printer service and maintenance work had already been announced previously, but this did not permanently resolve the problem. The Minister of Foreign Affairs specifies, however, that measures will be taken to force LOCOSEM to hand over the passports already paid for by the Congolese.
In conclusion, obtaining a Congolese passport is currently a real challenge for applicants. Technical problems and reduced printing capacity have led to considerable delays and a backlog of requests. However, the Congolese government is actively working to resolve this situation, with the arrival of a new operator and the decentralization of the passport issuing process. We hope that these measures will make it easier and faster to obtain a passport for all Congolese.