By Rahim Abdul
After weeks of operational disruption, Malawi’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has resumed passport printing, bringing relief to thousands of citizens who had faced prolonged delays.
Over 1,000 passports are already ready for collection in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu.
Department spokesperson Pasqually Zulu confirmed the resumption, noting that applicants have been notified through SMS and other communication channels.
“Applicants are now collecting their passports, and we are prioritising the backlog accumulated during the suspension period,” Zulu said.
The disruption stemmed from a system migration following a breach, which required transferring applicant data from Technobrain to E-Tech.
The process posed technical challenges, particularly during verification and reconciliation of records.
“Data migration was the main challenge, but the transition is now steadily progressing,” Zulu added.
Under the resumed operations, Lilongwe has already printed over 400 passports, Blantyre another 400, and Mzuzu over 70. To ease congestion at service points, the Department is publishing daily lists of successful applicants.
The Department has also upgraded its printing operations. The new system, operated by Madras Security Printing System, is capable of producing over 1,000 passports daily under full capacity, a significant improvement from the previous system managed by E-Tech Systems.
Last week, Minister of Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma assured the nation that over 100,000 pending applications will be prioritised, signaling a major effort to clear the backlog and restore citizen confidence in the immigration services.
