Medi told homeland security minister, Richard Chimwendo Banda, who visited the department in Blantyre that financial challenges are derailing their progress in serving people well.

“We are a government department that is also responsible for non-taxable revenue but out of these taxable revenues, it is minimal amount of money that is allocated to us. As long as we don’t have enough money, we can’t move around and check what is happening in the country.

“Apart from that, we are on e-governance on all our services; integrated border control, e-visa, e-permits, e-passport; we need sustenance and maintenance but at the same time we need a regulatory framework that governs this process’ he said.

Banda pledged support from the ministry so that the department can serve people better by, among other things, taking its services across the country.

“There is no way the very same institution which is raising a lot of resources should also suffer. The more we empower them, the more they raise resources.

“It is very true that they are facing a number of challenges. It is my responsibility to work with them on how best we can work on that but also to interact with our friends from Treasury as to how best we can support them. In the meantime, there will be some internal arrangements that can help us to get more resources,” Banda said.

He added; “we are going to discuss with our colleagues in the ministry of justice to review the legislation so that the Department continues to do well.”

Banda also challenged the Department to take services across the country so that people can access them within reach.

The minister visited Blantyre police construction site afterwards but did not move around the premises, saying there was no progress worth seeing.