Qualified Malawi citizens bypassed for high positions in multinationals: Immigration corrupt on ‘work permits’
There is an unspoken of evil labour practice that continues to consume the working spirit in most international companies operating in the country and some organisations with strong links to international interests, Nyasa Times has established.
Qualified Malawians and others with more high-grade and internationally recognised skills and papers are left-out in preference to international personnel who are provided with top-range remuneration packages.
However, despite being engaged and given work permits as experts, most of such personnel have certificates and higher national diplomas. This is in extreme contrast to Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees that many Malawians in their organisations and the local market have plus specialised chartered qualifications.
Locals with years of technical expertise in telecoms, factory productions, business operations and banking have been ignored for years by appointing and hiring the so-called experts from especially South Africa and Kenya.
Preference of such a labour market is strongly being advanced by companies Limbe Leaf, Standard Bank, TNM, Alliance One, Airtel Malawi and JTI.
A labour market analyst, Maxwell Nkhoma, said most of the companies line up various excuses to get work permits processed by the Department of Immigration.
“I know others say the type of machinery they operate requires an expert, similarly to managing lines of businesses like in banks and even procurement. However, many locals are even more qualified, this has been going on for so long now.
“As a country we should ask such companies and organisations of their approach in skills transfer. It is hard to believe how qualified Malawians are being used to even train the experts when they are on duty. It smacks lack of patriotism by responsible public offices,” said Nkhoma.
But a Blantyre-based citizen, Kondwani Namakhuwa said the whole thing odours corruption.
“There are loopholes that those companies take advantage of especially on issuance of work permits. On this day and age one cannot even dare to process and stamp a work permit for an expert who has a mere certificate.
“Seriously, how can that be defended? Surely there is corruption going on. Let the organisations seek for such expertise locally first,” Namakhuwa said.
Queried on how his department is issuing expert work permits for people who only have certificates and others with years of experience only, the Chief Immigration Officer, Masautso Medi was blunt in his refusal to comment on the issue.
“My brother, I will not comment on this issue,” he said.
Others are claiming that the Immigration Department is involved in issuance of work permits under duress because of the economic muscle of the multinationals and their hold on central government.
Malawi now has numerous graduates who are either loafing or trying to squeeze through annual internship programmes which government has been operating for two years now.
Other companies involved in sourcing labour outside the country for skills and knowledge that is readily available locally are First Capital Bank and CEAR, formerly Malawi Railways.
In the hospitality industry Malawi Sun, Game Haven, Sun N’ Sand, Serendib, and Amaryllis hotels hire chefs, housekeeping and maintenance supervisors classifying them as experts yet, most don’t even have a clue of their duties.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
This is a stupid and racist agenda. There are many more Malawians working abroad than Foreigners working in Malawi. Do the math and analysis, if you have been to school.
So while Malawi is looking for FDI to develop, such investment must be placed in the hands of Malawians? Idiotic thinking.
But we don’t need “expatriates for life” who renew work permits 11 times and behave to be more Malawian than natives. Very rude idiots. They shout and oppress Malawians. They have WhatsApp groups with fellow pigs and meet in private to discuss on how they can suppress or make Malawians lose jobs
My appeal is to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to get a list of all Employment permits issued in the last 5 years and seek justification why Malawians cannot occupy such positions. Where these cannot be justified, give notice to those occupants to go back and Malawi Police Service and Immigration should supervise their repatriation.The Immigration department is the most corrupt and not serving the needs of the country.All they look out for is how much money they will get from bribes.Just see what they do at KIA or Chileka when planes land.It is their officers who rush to meet with these filthy cheap Chinese,Indian and worse still Pakistanis at the plane, take them to the front of the Malawian citizens-giving them some uncalled for VIP treatment and let them through immigration after giving them visas.
As a country,we have reached a situation where we don’t need most of these guys.I would also propose that a committee that issues Employment permits should be multi-sectoral and be constituted immediately. Get University professors on the committee, Malawi chambers of commerce, legal profession, a representative of the labor union representative, key representative employers association and the committee should be co-chaired by the Ministry of labor and Home Land Security to evaluate each application.We also need a tabulation of permits issued published every six months so that Malawians get to know.Otherwise, the situation is currently fraught with gross corruption and inappropriate people are unreasonably flooding the country.
Malawi produces academics who have no clue what their jobs entails. We are living in a world where people are looking for results not degrees that grossly exaggerated. When you employ people they must produce results without being policed. Most employers couldn’t care less of your qualifications but would follow certainly your employment track record. Kiss good bye to your fancy degree if you didn’t go to field with it or you will die of envy and jealousy. Education is good but it should only defend you on how practical you are with it
kuno ku malawi its who you know not what you know when it comes to job recruitment
Really and Truly, Mr Medi said it all “My Brother I will not comment ” that was his response Ok why, because he is a visionary man and sees everybody same and it’s sad that Malawians are now becoming racist now, companies will employ Real candidates no matter foreigners or home grown as long as you meet their expectations, YOU MALAWIANS BUSY MABOZA AT WORK THAN WORK no employer will offer a job to altitude candidates Ok, leave the foreigners alone, they are same as you, stop the jealousy mindset guys, Ofcourse Immigration Department will issue Work permit as much if Malawians are not meeting the employers needs. SIMPLE.
There is a syndicate at immigration well known by the chief and Home Affairs on issuance of permits, The syndicate also involves the bank issuing fake receipts to applicants and money divided among officers at immigration and home affairs officials that is why you see all officers at immigration driving and living a larger life. A few years ago one Chidothe was caught with a similar case that was recorded at blantyre police and went to court but he managed to bribe his way and the case died a natural death. Let me ask Acb to conduct an audit of all permits at immigration and compare them with bank receipt, ithis will reveal how immigration officers are stealing money through permit syndicate.
Kuba amalawi komanso ulesi pantchito. For instance, the same person working as a gardener kwa nzungu ndi kwa munthu wakuda mmalawi, you’ll see the difference. If you employ those guys who work in Indian shops several hours, you’ll be shocked how he’ll be lazy and even complain pretty much about everything.
Yes And Do you know why, becaise malawians are thieves , we are not straight unfortunately. Where ever we are given good responsibilities, timanyerapo kumanena kuti mbuzi imadya pamene ayimangirira.
Experience counts… degree yopanda nayo knowledge or experience is nothing, anthu amene ali ndi certificates are more experienced and hard working than degree holders, sindikunama, expatriates experience is needed kuli konse, boma should come up with localization plan and citizens must learn from experienced foreigners.
Unfortunately an international would be far less likely to commit fraud and corruption.
Start the discussion…Good observation Mike and its my hope the Next Govt will address this issue .Too much corruption.Check Avis car hire and super markets, amwenye pa till
Very sad indeed. Why mother Malawi? The writer should also emphasis that many highly qualified Malawians are in diaspora because of similar policies. They are in diaspora not because they do not want to work in Malawi but because they are overlooked and they eventually leave the country.
This is very true and serious in Malawi. It is even wrong to single out Kenya and South Africa alone. We have plenty of Europeans who are less qualified than Malawians who come as tourists, volunteers, interns today …get connections with their fellows in the name of networks, and come back sitting as managers to for a Malawian who trained them. The next thing you hear is that the same Malawian has been fired. They replace Malawians willy nilly and give them peanuts. They only need bootlickers in their organizations who penalise fellow Malawians. The Ministry of Labour and Trade Unions must take this seriously. You cant do this bullshit in Tanzania, Zambia and other countries. The process of being granted a work permit is not easy. People have even given up. But foreigners use the weak system in Malawi to exploit Malawians and get away with it. Indians and Pakistanis are flocking to Malawi in large numbers and yet we cry that we are poor. Wake up!!!
Many Malawian CEOs have been a let down. Instead of promoting growth in these Multinational Corporations (MNC) local CEOs become busy devising ways of ripping off these companies and ill treating their fellow Malawians to show that they are the bosses. Multinational corporations don’t look at academic qualifications but positive results. To them qualifications don’t bring results but performance which is independent of qualifications. How many PhD holders have failed to run both private and public corporations?
I agree with you Chief. I think having foreigners in MEC could also solve the problem. I remember MCP saying that they are going to employ a foreigner as a Director of ACB. Results issue.
The truth of the matter is that those in power lack ideas, someone said. The very same people called “Experts” are learning from Malawians. In one tobacco company, a white guy was an apprentice: coming in and out and after 4 years comes in to head the department later being told that he is the perspective production manager. It all falls in the hands of the Ministry of Labour, I think they also play a role.
You invest to have returns not run down your company in the name of local expertise. Look at ESCOM how locals have run it down forget about political interference which may be true or not. Your newspaper carried a story about Gynkana Club in Zomba and you said when the azungus were running the place it was marvelous but come kamutubi as Kamuzu used to say in relation to Kamuzu Academy thing are now horrible. Why? You did provide the answer kukonda kusolola aMalawi. No honesty koma tikapita kunja ndiye kulimbikila we become hard workers with integrity dedication and so forth but when here shortcuts is the oder of the day
Malawi is the easiest country to get work permit in the whole world
At last some Malawians have some senses…
Wait until MCP/UTM take over government. All This nonsense will stop. This will be part of creating 1 million jobs!!! Nanga mpaka ma waiter a kunja? Ana athu from azitani?
A Malawi tizifinyika dziko lili lathu? Kwa eni tifinyike kunonso tizifinyika?
Most of these so called expatriates don’t have the required qualifications.