By Isaac Salima:
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has said it is reforming its services with the aim of making them more transparent and accessible to Malawians.
This follows a development where the department has, for the first time, released names of passport seekers whose passports are ready for collection.
Speaking on the development, the department’s national spokesperson Pasqually Zulu said this is one way of decongesting their offices.
“This is one way of serving Malawians better. We also would like to make our services more transparent. We will be doing this so that we can also lessen the burden that people have had in the past of covering long distances to check if their passports are ready,” he said.
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Zulu also added that they would like to go digital, where people can access their services easily.
“People will be able to download application forms and fill them and send them to us using their gadgets. They will be able to pay application fees in their localities and will only be required to come to our offices for verification if he or she is, indeed, a Malawian,” he said.
Immigration has previously faced criticism over service delivery, where applicants have been made to wait for a long period to get their passports.
The department recently faced network hitches as people were going back home without being assisted.
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Meanwhile, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Wily Kambwandira has commended the department for the initiative.
