Malawi is among 36 countries that United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump is considering for visa bans or other travel restrictions if they fail to adhere to set requirements.
Quoting a memo from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent to US diplomats, The Washington Post newspaper reported on Saturday that USA has given the countries 60 days to meet the requirements.
The countries facing potential bans include Malawi and two of her neighbours, Tanzania and Zambia. The list also includes the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Uganda and Zimbabwe, according to the publication.
In all there are 25 African countries of the 36-nations. The others are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan and Uganda.
The Washington Post said the concerns mentioned in the memo include having large numbers of citizens who overstayed in the USA and lack of competent central government authority to produce reliable identity documents.
“Other reasons included the availability of citizenship by monetary investment without a requirement of residency,” reads the report.
But in an interview yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo said she was not aware if the government has been officially informed about the potential ban.
“We have seen the media reports and we will check with the [US] embassy tomorrow [Monday]. So, I cannot comment on something that I have not verified,” she said.
The US Embassy in Malawi was yet to respond to The Nation questionnaire on the matter by press time at 8pm yesterday.
In March, The New York Times reported that Malawi appeared on a list of countries which were required to address security and vetting issues in 60 days, failing which they would face travel restrictions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement at the time that it had not received official communication through normal diplomatic channels regarding the issue.
Any potential travel restrictions could impact Malawians seeking to travel for education, business, or family purposes.
On June 4, Trump ordered an entry ban for citizens from 12 countries while travellers from seven other countries were partially banned.
