THE ministry of Home Affairs and Fidelity Printers have signed an agreement for the acquisition of 600 thousand securitised inner passport papers in a bid to ease the passport backlog.Currently the passport backlog stands at 400 thousand but is expected to be cleared within 100 days once all consumables required for production of passports are in place.Speaking at the signing ceremony, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage permanent secretary Aaron Nhepera, said the acquisition of passport papers was sufficient to meet demand throughout 2020.“The signing of this agreement is culmination of arduous negotiations and we seek to decisively deal with the backlog at the passport office through securing securitised inner passport paper. The current passport backlog stands at 400 thousand and the contract with Fidelity involves acquisition of 600 thousand inner passport papers which will be enough to clear backlog and take us throughout the year”.He said the ministry had concluded supply agreements with other suppliers for other consumables required in the productions of passports.