The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has stressed on the need to relocate its headquarters from Blantyre to the capital, Lilongwe.

According to the Department’s Director General Brigadier General Charles Kalumo (retired), Lilongwe is a strategic position for government offices to operate from.

He said: “I believe that the move to Lilongwe for the headquarters of Immigration is long overdue, the reason is very simple, Lilongwe is the capital of the republic of Malawi.

“And we can’t compare a government department that is very important to be in Blantyre, there is a lot of traffic from the headquarters in Blantyre to come to Lilongwe.”

Kalumo added that the Department needs to effectively collaborate with line ministries that are all based in Lilongwe.

“We have the Capital Hill where they are all ministries and it’s no argument at all at this moment in time that as an immigration department we should be in Lilongwe because everyone one is in Lilongwe,” Kalumo said.

But reacting to the call, member of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations Victor Musowa expressed worry over delays in relocating the offices citing that the matter is long overdue.

“Last time we made the agreement was like they are moving to Lilongwe this financial year before the end of first quarter but look, we have stayed up to now, there is no movement,” Musowa said.

The Committee said it will engage the Ministry of Lands to make available a building where the Department can be housed in Lilongwe.