Ministry of Transport asks all road traffic laws enforcement agencies to take note of shutdown of MalTIS

* The system that provides for driver licences, certificate of fitness (COF), insurance, car plate registration among others

* It developed a technical error since January 6, 2025 and nature of the problem requires more time to resolve than earlier estimated

By Duncan Mlanjira

The Malawi Traffic Information System (MalTIS) at the Directorate of Road Traffic & Safety Services (DRTSS) developed a technical error since January 6, 2025, rendering the DRTSS and its agencies to fail provide all services that are processed through the system.

The system provides for driver licences, certificate of fitness (COF), car plate registration, insurance, among others and Ministry of Transport & Public Works along with the system supplier are reported to have worked tirelessly to resolve the problem since it was discovered.

“Despite the urgency to have the system back within the shortest period, the technical nature of the problem required more time to resolve than earlier estimated,” says the Ministry in its statement issued yesterday by Secretary for Transport & Public Works, Eng. David Mzandu.

And while assure the public that progress has been made so far towards resolving the system error and the system will be functional within this week, the Ministry asked all government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) — responsible for enforcing road traffic laws and regulations — to take note of the current situation and act accordingly.

That is to say all expired or new driver licences, certificates of fitness (COF), car plate registration, insurance, among others, need to be bypassed until the system is back in operation after the Ministry will duly inform the general public.

The government technological service, MalTIS, has been riddled with controversy for year now between the Ministry and the system supplier, South African company, Fischer Consultants in association with a Malawian firm, MOVESA.

The contract to build the system was awarded way back with an agreement to hand over to Malawi Government in 2017 upon its completion — but over seven years after the agreed initial handover, the consultant is still clinging on to the sensitive system.

The situation attracted the attention and action by the Attorney General (AG), Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda, as well as Malawi Parliament through its Committee on Transport — especially when the MalTIS servers crashed in 2022 last year, disabling all DRTSS essential services.

That crisis forced the DRTSS to fly in the developers of the system, Fischer Consulting from South Africa, raising fears of sabotage on the part of the foreign contractor, who were reluctant to hand over the system to Malawi Government.

Before the crisis in September 2022, the AG was incredulous that an technological contract was given to MOVESA, a company with no ICT expertise, that subcontracted the deal to Fischer Consulting.

The AG also told the media that through the breach of not handing over the MalTIS system, vehicles were dubiously being registered in South Africa by Fischer Consulting and MOVESA and being driven into the country to evade the payment of excise and import duty.

Chakaka-Nyirenda indicated in 2022 that his office would commence litigation against the consultant after they were reluctant to engage with the AG to hand over the system.

The then Parliamentary Committee of Transport chairperson Uchizi Mkandawire was quoted in the media back then as saying there was need for the government to take control of the system, raising fears that the consultant might decide to tamper with it and in worst case scenario, switch it off.

He was quoted by The Daily Times in September 2022 as saying the contractor “may decide to shut down the system anytime they want because they have all the rights; all the control of the servers and everything”.

And in February 2023, the AG directed the DRTSS to investigate issues raised by the industry’s stakeholders that allege that Fischer Consultants & MOVESA deliberately designed or interfered with ther MalTIS to block indigenous Malawian business persons from accessing it.

The AG had prepared a circular addressed to Public Procurement & Disposal of Assets and Authority (PPDAA); Comptroller of Statutory Corporations; DRTSS and the Competition & Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) following various complaints that Black Business Indigenous Network had registered with his offices.

The allegations were unethical business practices perpetrated by non-indigenous business actors — thus the AG ordering the PPDAA and CFTC to investigate the issues raised and that appropriate sanctions must be imposed in such malpractices.

Further, the DRTSS was also advised to address issues raised by the Black Business Indigenous Network as regards to the MalTIS, which the industry players were failing to access — an issue that had been discussed and probed into in the past years but to no avail.

According to the AG, the Black Business Indigenous Network leveled the monopolistic and unethical business practices perpetrated non-indigenous business actors.