By Isaac Salima:
Network problems have halted operations at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services.
When we visited the department’s head office in Blantyre Wednesday, we found service seekers who lamented that they had not been assisted since Monday.
People have, since Monday, been flocking to the department’s offices, only to wait in vain and return home without being assisted.
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By the time we arrived at the place, we found that people had been seated under trees and elsewhere as they waited for the problem to be fixed.
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In Chikwawa District, where the department has a sub-division, service seekers were facing the same problem.
In Mzuzu City, network glitches were the order of the day, too.
One of the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they were migrating to a new system, hence the problem.
“The problem may be resolved later this week,” he said.
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On his part, Immigration Department spokesperson Pasqually Zulu asked for ample time before he could comment on the issue.
However, some passport seekers expressed dismay with the development.
Dickson John, who said he had come from Mulanje District, said the development had inconvenienced him.
“I have been here from Sunday, when I arrived from Mulanje, as I was told to come here this week.
“However, since Monday, I have been coming here, only to wait in vain. I am staying at a friend’s house and, so, it is also inconveniencing to him. What about those who are coming from far-away districts and do not have a relative,” he said.
And Gray Chimuzu, from Machinjiri Township in Blantyre City, urged the authorities to work on the problem with speed.
“Such problems need to be solved speedily. Look at the people who are suffering as a result of the challenge,” he said.
Recently, the government signed a new contract with a new passport system supplier, namely Madras Security Printers Private Limited, replacing local firm E-Tech Systems.
E-Tech was engaged on a temporary basis to replace Techno Brain after the government had terminated the contract with it.
Speaking during a pass out parade in Blantyre on Friday, Homeland Security Minister Ezekiel Ching’oma said that once the system is fully implemented, it would improve the department’s operations.
“When the system is fully rolled out, we anticipate to be timely printing enough passports to meet the high demand for passport services and end the long queues of applicants seeking passport services,” he said.
The Immigration Department has lately been passing through troubled waters, in terms of the provision of services.
In 2023, the department was forced to halt its passports printing system services due to system failure.
