Malawi immigration dept owes uniform supplier K1.6bn

Malawi’s  Immigration Department says it is failing to buy new uniforms for its officers because it owes the supplier K1.6 billion.

Chief immigration officer Hudson Mankhwala said this when Home Affairs Minister Paul Chibingu toured the department’s headquarters in Blantyre on Friday.

Mankhwala said most of his officers need new uniforms, but the supplier has told the department to settle the bill first.

“We presented this to government, but to no avail.  Our hope is in you [Minister] to help us settle the bill so that our staff looks smart,” he said.

Mankhwala also said the department needs modern equipment to improve its performance as the manual systems they mostly use are archaic.

He added that while the department plans to recruit more officers, its proposal for recruitment and to build its own training institution is not being supported.

Chibingu acknowledged the challenges, but asked the department to improve service delivery and avoid lame excuses when it fails to perform as expected.

The minister said efficiency at the workplace is achievable with discipline and competence.

“Services have not been impressive and I am happy to be responsible for this department. We have to improve and ensure that our services are efficient because the department is crucial for the country’s economy. Proper action should be taken against negligent employees,” said Chibingu.

He also labelled the department as one of the most corrupt, but blamed the practice on lack of motivation for employees.