Government has put its foot down on the $29.9 million (K52 billion) passport printing contract awarded to Madras Security Printers Private Limited, stating that the company met requirements.
Speaking in an interview yesterday, Minister o f Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma said Madras has designed a new passport with security features that meet requirements set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
He said: “Some of the security features in the new passport are those which are required by the United States and moreover, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services will be in total control of the system unlike in the past.”
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Malawi was one of the countries given 60 days by the United States to address security and vetting issues, failing which they could face stricter travel policies or outright travel ban.
Meanwhile, Ching’oma said that a technical team from Madras has been in the country designing the new passport and installing the system with passport printing expected to start next month.
His sentiments follow demands by a group called Concerned Ci t izens of Malawi who have written to Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to cancel the passport contract for lack of accountability in the procurement process.
In February, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) refused to confirm if it had approved the cont rac t while the ACB has also not confirmed its involvement in vetting.
In the letter to the AG dated March 25 2025, Edwards Kambanje and Oliver Nakoma said this suggests that due diligence was not conducted before commit t i ng ta xpayer s ’ money to the India based company.
Reads the statement : “Given these grave concerns, the Concerned Citizens of Malawi demand that you, as the Attorney General, take immediate action to halt this contract and conduct a thorough, transparent review of the procurement process.”
In separate interviews yesterday, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence and activist Sylvester Namiwa also supported the call to cancel the contract, stating that the lack of transparency raises suspicions.
However, Ching’oma told The Nation in February that government identified the new passport supplier through a restricted tender process from which 25 firms were shortlisted and the PPDA was involved.
The contract with Madras comes about three years after AG Chakaka-Nyirenda cancelled a $60.8 million (about K106.3 billion) TechnoBrain contract signed in March 2019.
