Pressure continues to mount on President Lazarus Chakwera to act on the chaos at Immigration Department with a group calling itself Malawi First giving the Malawian 24 hours to fire Immigration Chief, General Charles Kalomo, a call that has also been made by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC).
Briefing reporters in Lilongwe on Monday, Malawi First President Bon Kalindo said failure by Chakwera to fire Kalumo by tomorrow will result in them calling upon Malawians of goodwill to join all Immigration officers across the country for a shutdown this Thursday.
Further, the HRDC has joined forces of calling the President to fire Kalumo arguing he is the cause of all the mess regarding passports at the department.
Malawi has over the past three months been gripped by a severe crisis emanating from within the Immigration Department, where each day witnesses' masses of citizens desperately seeking passports spending the whole day in the sun waiting hopefully to get passports from the department. HRDC believes this crisis is entirely man-made and stems from the department's glaring incompetence.
HRDC observes that failure to contract a passport printing supplier with viable capacity to print quality passports has plunged the nation into chaos, sparking concerns of either gross management or deliberate exploitation. The recruitment of E-Tech Systems to handle passport printing has not brought any hope to normalise the printing of quality passports, casting doubts on the department's decision-making processes.
In an official communiqué signed by its National Coordinator, Kelvin Chirwa, HRDC reports that the crisis has caused significant economic losses, disturbing vital business activities and access to urgent healthcare abroad. Moreover, it has shattered the aspirations of countless Malawians, including the youth, seeking educational and employment opportunities overseas. There are also reports that Malawians who manage to obtain the passports face rejection for visas by some countries due to alleged failure of the passports to meet international security standards thereby worsening the crisis and tarnishing Malawi's reputation internationally.
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"Malawians are also concerned about the lack of transparency and accountability regarding the alleged ransom of $2 million when the passport issuing system at the Immigration Department was hacked. Minister Ken Zikhale Ng'oma told Malawians that the alleged hackers were demanding such a sum for them to hand back the passport issuing system to the Immigration Department. Nothing beyond this allegation was provided to Malawians by the Minister, raising questions whether we, Malawians, are being played by the Ministry," reads the communiqué in part.
Of late, there have been calls by senior immigration officers for the resignation or dismissal of Brigadier General Charles Kalumo, citing unfair dismissals, poor working conditions and maladministration. The officers have threatened unspecified action if Kalumo does not resign or if President Chakwera fails to dismiss him.
It is against this background that HRDC is demanding an immediate dismissal of Kalumo due to demonstrated incompetence in managing the crisis. HRDC has also called for the cancellation of the existing contract with E-Tech Systems and initiation of an open tender process to ensure efficient passport printing services. Additionally, HRDC has called for a thorough explanation from Minister Ken Zikhale Ng'oma regarding the ransomware incident, with resignation warranted if clear explanations are not provided.
