Delays are still continuing to plague the process of approving residency and belongership applications in the territory.
His Excellency Governor John Rankin made the disclosure during a recent press conference as he updated the public on the progress of the National Unity Government in their pursuit of implementing the Commission of Inquiry Report recommendations.
Governor Rankin revealed that in excess of 1000 applications have been submitted to be processed since June 2022, with little progress made in dealing with the new applications.
He also informed that a backlog exists that predates June 2022, with 53 previous applications for belongership and 43 for residency awaiting Cabinet decision.
The governor has many questions as to why the process continues to be stalled, stating that staffing issues should not be the main constraint in this particular case.
B33 of the COI Report calls for a review of the existing policy and process governing how residency and belongership status is awarded to individuals.
Governor Rankin said a new deadline for the completion of this recommendation has been set for October 2023, following the appointment of reviewer Kedrick Malone who will lead the review process.