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Chaotic scenes at Passport Office

There were chaotic scenes at the Jamaican Passport Office on Constant Spring Road in Kingston early on Thursday morning, as clients desperately sought to beat the daily quota recently established for service.

There was a rush on the main gate of the office, with the aged and very young being placed in grave danger, causing the office to call in additional security personnel.

Hundreds of people, some camped out from overnight, have been turning up to secure new passports, ahead of the increase in the price of the document, which is set to take effect next week.

Several angry persons objected to the decision and blasted the agency for its handling of  the situation.
 
The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) introduced the daily quota on Tuesday in order to manage the significant number of  persons applying for passports ahead of  next week's increase in fees.
                                                        
PICA has insisted that it will maintain the 1,000 quota at its head office despite complaints from some members of  the public, saying only that it will review the situation daily.
 
A statement from PICA said its regional office in Montego Bay reached its quota of  250 about 11 o'clock on Wednesday, but accommodated the additional persons who were waiting to be served.

The agency said it will process 150 applications at its Mandeville office, 100 each in St Ann's Bay and May Pen and 90 in Portmore. 

 



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