Zimbabwe has installed 14 electronic gates (e-gates) at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport to process travellers entering Zimbabwe without the need for physical interaction with immigration officials.
Travellers with e-passports will scan their passports, their fingerprint and also their face. The system will then verify the identity of the traveller from the data and grant them access. The system will serve Zimbabwean passport holders at entry and exit points.
Called an Online Border Management System (OBMS), this system will also be deployed at the Victoria Falls International Airport, the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport and the Beitbridge Border Post.
According to the Immigration Department Zimbabwe is the first to deploy such as system at a border in the SADC region.
Because the e-gate processing happens faster than traditional immigration lines, this system is expected to reduce congestion at borders, especially South Africa’s busiest border – Beitbridge. The border processes more than 10,000 travellers a day.
The system is also expected to reduce some illegal activities at the borders such as human trafficking. However, the effectiveness of any system ultimately depends on the integrity of those operating it. This system will not prevent corrupt officials from going around it.
It’s unclear at this point whether the OBMS will be integrated with other systems, such as Interpol or visa databases.. The immigration department has also not said when exactly it expects the system to be fully operational and the deployment timelines for the other 3 ports of entry.
Zimbabwe’s Immigration department contracted a Lithuanian company called Garsu Pasaulis for the project.
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