The Parliamentary Committee on International Relations has sent back officials from the Ministries of Justice, Homeland Security, Treasury and the department of Immigration and Citizenship Services for failing to provide an explanation of how government got into a contract with Techno Brain Global FZE to facilitate digitalisation of e-passports.

Yoneco FM understands the officials from the ministries and Immigration department went into a meeting unprepared which made it hard for the Committee to understand the contract and progress being made.

The committee’s chairperson Patrick Bandawe has told us that immigration department owes Techno Brain approximately K15 billion accumulated in arrears.

“Of course there is an issue of contracts which the Government of Malawi through immigration gave Techno Brain Global FZE.

“So it’s the Committee is not conversant of how the contract went about on e-passports and we have accumulated arrears which the government of Malawi should pay,” Bandawe said.

He added that the Committee decided to halt the proceedings and sent back the officials and ask them to come back prepared.

He said: “We have come up with a resolution that they should with a presentation to the committee, they came without presentations so we want the presentations from all of them so that the committee is aware of exact issues.

“Members started asking questions but I curtailed the whole business so that they should come up with presentations so that the Committee appreciates exactly what transpired.”

The round table discussion comes after a meeting with officials from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 in which it was revealed that the department had accumulated the arrears.