01 October 2007

By Charles Mpaka

Foreigners who lost credibility in their countries and are exploiting Malawi’s immigration system to achieve personal ends have dented the country’s reputation. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Ernest Malenga said this Wednesday in Blantyre when he visited Department of Immigration headquarters.

“Malawians used to travel to countries like the United Kingdom without visas. But things have changed because unscrupulous foreigners are accessing our passport and putting Malawi’s character in doubt because of their ill conduct,” Malenga said. Malenga attributed the problem partly to corruption at the immigration watchdog.

He said the influx of refugees into the country was being compounded by immigration officials “who think they can make a living out of the problem through collusion with foreigners and corrupt practices”. The minister further observed that capacity limitation at the department was causing delays to process documents.

Chief Immigration Officer Elvis Thodi lamented how the department was struggling to cope with human resource inadequacies because of absence of a service commission specific to the section.
Thodi argued that the Civil Service Commission, which handles recruitment and staff promotion in the public sector was not prioritising needs of the department.

And to remedy some of the problems, the department has developed a five-year strategic development blueprint. The plan intends to improve the department’s service delivery through review of current document processing procedure and cater for information and communication technology demands.

The strategy has also necessitated the creation of an anti-corruption policy for the department. “We have taken note of public perception on corruption in the department. The people of this country have spoken through a survey and we are to responding accordingly,” Thodi said.

The immigration chief announced that the department would intensify public awareness and work on promotion of ethical conduct among officers. On his part, Malenga instructed the officers to improve on customer care and ensure timely processing of passport and permits. He observed that unnecessary delays could cause panic and lead to temptation.

Malenga suggested the review of the existing immigration act, which he said was not responsive to the size of the population and to social, economic and mobility needs of the modern society. The act in use dates back to 1964 when the government of Malawi formally took over immigration services from the Federal Government based in the then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on January 1, 1964.- The Daily Times (of Malawi).

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