Leader of Opposition in Parliament George Chaponda has asked government to immediately cancel its K52.7 billion passport deal with Madras Security Private Printers amid intermittent glitches frustrating applicants.
But while Ministry of Homeland Security was not forthcoming for its response during the week, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has played down the challenges, describing them as trivial and a normal occurrence.
In an interview on Wednesday, Chaponda said the situation shows that Malawi is in a passport crisis and that the Homeland Security Ministry needs to address Malawians on the state of passport printing in the wake of the glitches.
“Like I said in Parliament before, the crisis did not start today. It began when this government decided, without proper justification, to terminate the contract with Techno Brain, a company that was providing passports efficiently and without the current chaos.
“Since then, the issuance of passports has been marred by irregularities, long delays, and now, a complete standstill,” he said
The whole of last week, passport applicants struggled to make headway with applications due to network glitches. The situation appalled the applicants some of whom come from distant places.
But Chaponda said government must stop gambling with the dignity of Malawians by serving them better. He said this entails government awarding contracts to reputable companies to provide services to Malawians without any challenges.
As such, he said the passport deal with Madras Security Private Printers needs to be reviewed.
Madras Security Private Printers, which replaced E-Tech Systems that was contracted in April 2024 to provide a temporary passport solution after government terminated its earlier contract with Techno Brain, was offered a $29.9 million (K52.7 billion) contract in January 2025.
The Techno Brain contract, signed in March 2019, was worth $60.8 million (about K106.3 billion. Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda cancelled the contract due to alleged poor handling by the former governing Democratic Progressive Party administration.
The Attorney General said the Techno Brain contract was not supposed to be signed in the first place because the contract was fraught with irregularities.
Minister of Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma did not respond to our questionnaire sent to him on Wednesday pertaining to the issues raised by Chaponda.
But in an earlier interview, Ching’oma backed Madras Security Private Printers, saying it met all requirements in providing passports to the country. He said the company designed a new passport with security features that meet requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
He further said the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services would be in total control of the system unlike in previous scenarios.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services spokesperson Pasqually Zulu said the intermittent network glitches were minor.
He said: “They were just some minor glitches that happen from time to time. It was not something big and it was just for four if not five days.”
In February, the Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) refused to confirm if it had approved the contract awarded to Madras Security Private Printers while the Anti-Corruption Bureau did not confirm its involvement in vetting.
This prompted a group called Concerned Citizens of Malawi to write to the Attorney General, demanding cancellation of the contract, citing lack of accountability in the procurement process.
In the letter, group leaders Edward Kambanje and Oliver Nakoma said the situation meant that due diligence was not conducted before committing taxpayers’ money to the India-based company.
