Africa-Press – Malawi. The Office of the Ombudsman has started investigating operations at the Department Immigration and Citizenship Services.
A notice that the office has released is urging the general public to submit concerns relating to the perceived ineffectiveness and inefficiency in the delivery of the department’s services.
The immigration department has been in the news in regards to poor service delivery.
Reports indicate that the department has gone almost four weeks without issuing a passport.
The statement, signed by Ombudsman Grace Malera, says under systemic investigation, the Ombudsman goes beyond handling of individual complaints caused by one-off incidences.
“The systemic investigation is being undertaken against the background of growing concerns on challenges that members of the public face when seeking the services of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services which raise issues of maladministration,” the notice reads.
The Ombudsman is, therefore, asking people to make the submissions not later than August 31, 2025.
Immigration spokesperson Pasqually Zulu asked for ample time before he could comment on the issue.
Recently, the department announced that it was reforming its services with the aim of making them more transparent and accessible to Malawians.
This followed a development where the department has been releasing names of passport seekers whose passports are ready for collection.
Zulu recently said this was one way of decongesting their offices.
“This is one way of serving Malawians better. We also would like to make our services more transparent. We will be doing this so that we can also lessen the burden that people have had in the past of covering long distances to check if their passports are ready,” he said.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
