Passports fury
Fed up with persistent hiccups in the production of passports, a group of concerned citizens has asked President Lazarus Chakwera to fire Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma and Immigration chief Charles Kalumo.
The group, co-led by Oliver Nakoma, Edward Kambanje and Aman Omar, accuses Ng’oma and Kalumo of failing to deliver and feels it is time they paved the way for other people to take charge of the ministry and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services.
Nakoma, speaking in an interview yesterday, observed that the continued challenges in the production and availability of passports pointed to failure to deliver.
The concerned citizens have since announced plans to hold vigils at all Immigration offices in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Mangochi on March 12 2024 if the President does not fire the duo.
Said Nakoma: “Businesses have collapsed, particularly those involved in cross-border trade. Some patients have failed to travel abroad for medical attention and others have lost opportunities due to the mess at the Department of Immigration.
“This is why we want the minister and Immigration chief to resign or the President must fire them because they have failed. Let’s try others.”
Ng’oma, Kalumo, Ministry of Homeland Security principal secretaries Oliver Kumbambe and Steve Kayuni as well as Immigration Department national spokesperson Wellington Chiponde were not available for comments.
The group’s call comes at a time Information and Communications Technology Association of Malawi (Ictam) has offered to work with Immigration Department to address ICT related glitches affecting passport printing in the country.
Ictam general secretary Andrew Kamwendo said in a statement the association will take proactive measures to assist the immigration in combating the digital threats.
Reads the statement in part: “Ictam boasts a pool of skilled cybersecurity experts who are prepared to collaborate with the Immigration Department through E-Government, offering their expertise without any financial burden.
“Our commitment to ICT advancement in Malawi remains steadfast, with objectives including the promotion of ICT knowledge and literacy among professionals and the public, fostering effective ICT utilization for national development, and providing a platform for dialogue among ICT stakeholders.”
In an interview yesterday, Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu, who is also government official spokesperson,welcomed the Ictam offer.
He said his ministry works with Ictam and expressed optimism that the association indeed understands the severity and depth of the passport issues and the solution that is required.
During Question Time to the President in Parliament last Wednesday, the President said the Immigration system had been hacked by “digital mercenaries” and directed Immigration Department to find alternatives to resume passport printing within three weeks.
He said the purported “digital mercenaries” were demanding ransom from the government, but stressed that no payment will be made.
The President described the hacking as a serious national security breach and said Malawi was not the first in the modern world to be a target of such cyber-attacks. However, he assured the House that “decisive steps to regain control of the situation” have been undertaken.
For the past three years, Malawians have been struggling to obtain passports due to persistent challenges, including shortage of passport booklets, among others.
The passport production hiccups began after Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda cancelled the $60.8 million (about K103.3 billion) Techno Brain contract in December 2021 for alleged poor handling of the contract by the previous administration.
Under the deal, Techno Brain Global FZE of the United Arab Emirates was tasked to upgrade the country’s passport issuance system.
