Mzuzu set to print passports
Immigration Department is set to start printing passports in Mzuzu and has since warned officials, chiefs, and the public against abuse of the system.
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Paul Chibingu is expected to commission the printing today, a development that has excited people in the Northern Region who previously used to travel to Blantyre to process passports.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, Immigration deputy public relations officer (North) Blackwell Lungu said the coming of the printing machine will ease pressure on the existing system and minimise operational costs.
He said the machine will help improve service delivery as people will be getting their passports on time. People applying for express passports would get them after three to four days when they were supposed to be accessed the same day.
Said Lungu: “There were many challenges with the centralised system. The first challenge was distance. We used to hire delivery services for passports from Blantyre and that was costly. We also used to send officers to Blantyre to print passports which required allowances.
“So, having the machine here will help us save on operational costs but also improve on service delivery. There were cases where passports for Mzuzu could be mixed up with passports from other regions and it was taking time for people to access them.”
Asked how the department will control abuse of the system which sees foreigners being given passports, Lungu said the law is clear that non Malawians are not supposed to access Malawi passports.
He called on officials at the department to ensure that only Malawians access passports.
Lungu also warned chiefs against giving false information to allow foreigners access passports. He said any chief found doing so will face the law.
He also called on the public and civil society organisations to report any malpractices related to passport applications so that culprits are brought to book.
He said: “We will get rid of intermediaries. People should only be dealing with immigration officials. These intermediaries are only there to dupe them. They have no control over the printing process.” n
No matter where passports are printed. Each district or big towns were supposed to have a home affairs office where people can apply and collect their documents.. This will create employment and speed up the service.