Government has signed a five-year new passport deal worth $29 975 450 (about K52.7 billion) with Madras Security Printers Private Limited up to 2030, but PPDA is dodgy on whether they vetted the contract.
Madras replaces a local information and communications technology (ICT) firm E-Tech Systems, which was contracted in April last year to provide temporary passport solution after government terminated a $60.8 million deal with Techno Brain in December 2021.
Asked what role the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) played in the new passport deal and its level of involvement, PPDA spokesperson Kate Kujaliwa was elusive on the matter.
“Do your research to find out if the said procurement was submitted to PPDA because not all procurements are submitted to the authority,” she said.
Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda said in an interview that he was not aware a new contract has been signed and that no copy was sent to his office.
But in an interview on Friday, Minister of Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma said government identified the new passport supplier through a restricted tender process and that 25 firms were shortlisted and PPDA was involved.
He said out of the 25, only six firms, four Malawian-owned and two international bidders, participated in the final bidding.
Said Ching’oma: “[The new suppliers’] printing capacity will be more than 2 000 passports per day as opposed to the current situation, which is less than 1 000 per day. So, very shortly, [the supplier will start work].
“This is a great milestone to the country and its citizens, as the Department [of Immigration and Citizenship Services] will be able to clear the backlog within record time and also reduce the waiting time for passport applicants.”
He expressed optimism that with the new supplier, the Immigration Department will meet its target of producing passports for normal applicants within 10 working days.
Asked which other institutions were involved in the procurement process, Ching’oma said all the required stakeholders in the procurement process, including PPDA were consulted.
He claimed PPDA, the Government Contracting Unit, and Ministry of Justice approved the new passport contract.
The new contract comes about three years after AG Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda cancelled a $60.8 million (about K106.3 billion) TechnoBrain contract due to alleged poor handling of the contract by the former governing Democratic Progressive Party administration. TechnoBrain signed the contract in March 2019.
The AG said the $60 million contract with TechnoBrain was not supposed to be signed in the first place because there were several things that were wrong. He said the contract was fraught with irregularities and wondered how controlling officers went ahead to sign it.
Asked what legal advice he gave government on the new contract to avoid repeating the TechnoBrain experience, Chakaka-Nyirenda expressed ignorance about the K52.7 billion new passport contract.
He said: “I am blank, and the contract is yet to be submitted to my office. I didn’t know about Madras. I am hearing it now from you. So, I am not aware about this contract.”
Anti-Corruption Bureau spokesperson Egrita Ndala asked for more time before commenting on the matter.
Following the termination of the TechnoBrain contract, Malawians have struggled to access the travelling document.
But in 2023, government re-engaged Techno Brain on a temporary basis as it sought to find a replacement, before settling for E-Tech.
However, in February last year, the Immigration Department suspended issuance of the passports due to a system failure.
President Lazarus Chakwera later announced in Parliament that the passport system was hacked and that the purported “digital mercenaries” were demanding ransom from the government.
He directed the department to find alternatives to resume passport printing within three weeks.
In the wake of the mess that resulted in suspension of passport printing and processing, some quarters accused Techno Brain of having a hand in the purported hacking.
However, in an earlier statement Techno Brain representative Nandan Gopalakrishna said the company empathised with Malawi and swiftly responded to an urgent request for assistance to resolve the issue in January 2024.
