MALAWI: Passport Corruption & more – 25th Mar 2025

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 25th of March twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

An investigative report revealed that corruption at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services is out of control. On Sunday the 23rd, the Nation Newspaper wrote an article revealing that corrupt officers from the Department demand an illegal fee collected once the passport is ready. It ranges from 100 thousand Kwacha, which is about sixty dollars, to 300 thousand Kwacha, nearly 170 dollars, which is then shared amongst those who process and print passports.

Mind you, people do have to pay a fee, but it's for the application to get a passport. The article said that if the applicant does not pay the fee, they aren't given their passport, even when it's ready.

When questioned, Wellington Chiponde, the Department’s Spokesperson, said he had not received any official complaint on the issue.

News of the illegal collection fee came out amid stories of faulty passports. In twenty twenty-three, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services suspended passport printing due to a cyberattack. When they resumed printing in early twenty twenty-four, the passports couldn't be read in various countries’ border machines, suggesting that something was wrong with them.

On Monday the 24th, local news announced that the government had signed a contract with a new passport issuance supplier called Madras Security Printers, and that they would start offering their services by the end of April.

However, an old article surfaced on social media. It alleges that, in twenty twenty-one, Liberia hired Madras but the company turned out to be corrupt. Comments on social media show that some people doubt that the government has gotten a good deal.

But maybe things will be different now that the Immigration Department is under new management. On Thursday the 20th, a letter from the Secretary to the President and State announced the appointment of Macloud Kalindang'oma as the Acting Director General of the Immigration Department. He replaced Charles Kalumo who was fired last year after the High Court found that his appointment as Director General did not follow the appropriate laws and guidelines.

Next up, some local news stories have shown just how fast Malawi’s health status is declining. For instance, on Thursday the 20th, the news outlet the Nyasa Times shared a video of some civilians removing a cast from a woman’s leg at Queen Elizabeth Central, one of the country’s biggest hospitals, located in Blantyre in the Southern Region..

According to the news outlet, the woman visited the hospital to have the cast removed, but her doctors told her to do it herself because the machine used to remove casts was broken. The men in the video were seen using razor blades and knives to remove the cast.

News of declining local health services has been making headlines following the US aid ban.

Despite the current and impending national economic ruin, the government does not seem to care. The executive’s priorities have been questioned after it revealed its decision to put at least twenty thousand chiefs on its monthly payroll. The chiefs did not receive an allowance, and they will be joining a payroll that has nearly forty-three thousand chiefs on it already.

The news attracted mixed attention. Victor Chipopfya, a political expert, said the economy is already crumbling and authorities should spend wisely. However, Dr. George Chaima, another expert, felt the move would motivate chiefs to do their work as the funds serve as their remuneration.

The President might have shed light on these and other concerning issues in his interview with Podcast Malawi, shared on the podcast’s YouTube and Facebook channels on Tuesday the 25th.

The Podcast Malawi team talked with President Lazarus Chakwera about various pressing issues, including the rampant corruption, the President’s recent State of the Nation Address, and the funding freeze by America.

Podcast Malawi is a youth podcast that focuses on trending news. The President’s appearance on the podcast brought mixed views, with some thinking it was demeaning for a man of his status, and others saying it is a trick to win the youths over ahead of the elections.

To listen to the full interview, click on the link in the show notes!

The twenty twenty-five World Happiness Report has ranked Malawi as the fourth unhappiest country in the world, scooping 144 out of 147 countries.

The World Happiness Report is based on factors such as income levels, life expectancy, and corruption levels. As such, Malawi’s low ranking reflects the struggles many citizens are facing, including economic hardships, inflation, and unemployment. The report said there is a need for improved living conditions, economic stability, and mental well-being initiatives to boost overall happiness levels.

Other countries in the bottom five of the ranking include Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, and Zimbabwe, while Finland was rated as the world’s happiest country.

Despite the ranking, there are some developments that put smiles on locals’ faces. One of them is the introduction of a Night Market in Blantyre city. The night market opened on Saturday the 22nd, and many people from surrounding areas deemed it a key to unlocking more business opportunities. Some citizens told local news that they believe the night market will boost trade and improve the livelihoods of vendors who depend on daily sales to sustain their families.

In other news, on Friday the 21st, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (or Misa) Malawi Chapter launched iVerify Malawi, a fact-checking initiative to identify and expose false information and ensure that the correct data is spread to voters to help them make informed decisions ahead of the September twenty twenty-five Presidential Elections.

Golden Matonga, the Misa Malawi Chairperson, said the initiative is Misa Malawi's contribution to the war against the high level of false reports, which are a threat to democracy and the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

iVerify Malawi was rolled out in partnership with the United Nations Development Program. Their website flags trending political news, labelling it as true or false.

CTS Courier, one of the country’s most popular courier companies, has come up with its own innovation. On Sunday the 16th, the company’s management said they will introduce the CTS Digital System to help locals track their parcels from their phones. They said it will be available from the 1st of April.

The news came just weeks after CTS announced the opening of over twenty branches nationwide and added cars to its fleet.

The development might have been long overdue considering global advancements. Still, some say that Malawi is developing quite well as a third-world country with low digital access.

In entertainment news, some gospel music enthusiasts are looking forward to seeing Ada Ehi, one of Nigeria’s biggest gospel artists, perform in Malawi for the first time during the Favor Gospel Concert set for the 31st of May in Lilongwe in the Central Region.

Wendy Harawa, one of the Concert Organizers, confirmed the news on Monday the 24th, and urged locals to save the date and buy their tickets. She said the concert would be an evening of powerful worship, uplifting music and inspiring testimony.

One of the country’s biggest festivals, the Lake of Stars, announced its return this October at Nkhotakota District in the Central Region.

The Festival usually takes place in September, but on Tuesday the 25th, the Festival released a statement saying they decided to make room for the elections which would be happening in September as well. They also said they will set up an app where artists and vendors can register, and that they will start announcing their lineup and launch ticket sales in April.

Every year, the Lake of Stars brings local and international talent to showcase cultures to a global audience. It attracts people from various African countries and Europe.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!