Mzuzu passport printing machine breaks down
The Immigration office in Mzuzu has not produced passports for a month now due to a broken printer.
Northern Regional Immigration spokesperson Blackwell Lungu said in an interview on Tuesday, the office had just acquired spare parts for a server which got burnt, adding that it is this server that stores all the data.
“It is true that we are no longer printing passports because the printing machine stopped working. However, people should not lose hope because all the necessary spare parts have been procured,” he said.
Lungu added that technicians are currently working to fix the problem, and the office is expected to resume printing passports on Monday.
One of the passport applicants, Henry Munthali of Thomas Mhone Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mtwalo, Mzimba, said he paid for an express passport last month but it has not been printed.
“I paid K68 000 for an express passport which normally takes three days. I was supposed to get it by March 5 but I have not received it yet. It is sad and counterproductive for us to wait this long without any information on when I will get my passport,” he said.
The Mzuzu Immigration Office started printing passports on March 31 2015. Previously, passport applicants used to travel to Blantyre to process passports.
