The South Sudanese government has suspended the issuance of national identity cards and passport for the next two weeks after a surge in requests for travel documents.

The Director General for Passports, Nationality and Immigration, Augustino Maduot Parek, said systems at the department are being upgraded to accommodate a huge increase in data.

There has been an increased in the number of people seeking national IDs in Juba, he told Eye Radio 98.6 FM in Juba, saying the demand has increased from 2,000 passports per day to 5,000 passports.

“When the situation was normal, few applicants were applying for the documents,” said Mr Maduot, “with the start of the crisis, the number shot up.”

An emergency travel document will still be issued for those needing to travel urgently. This pass allows South Sudanese to travel only to some neighboring countries.

“There are countries that we have an agreement with and we are using emergency travel document to Kenya and Uganda only,” he said. 

File photo (VOA)