Every time we read newspapers, listen to the news on the radios or TVs, walk on our streets, at workplaces, literally everywhere, the stories are the same: nothing seem to be working in Malawi.

For example, the farm input subsidy programme is not bearing fruits, at times it is not reaching the intended beneficiaries.  There are numerous questions surrounding its implementation procedures and its effectiveness.

The health system has been in tatters for years now, lack of medical staff, drugs and equipments are a norm.  Let alone drug theft cases.  If you do not know any of the medical staff, it will take you more than necessary to get your treatment.  Preferential treatment is observed even at the hospitals.

At the immigration office, corruption cases are perceived to be rampant.  Most people wait for ages in order to get their passports ready and often they pay (under the table) to have their passports released (done).

The value of Kwacha keeps on falling.  It looks like Reserve Bank of Malawi is unable to control its depreciation thus making the lives of most Malawian unbearable.

The list goes on… But what is common in all these scenarios is that people are not satisfied with the way things are being run, with the services they receive.

…what prompted this article…

On 27 October last year I sent a parcel to my brother from Serbia.  It took around 3 months for the parcel to arrive in Malawi and for my brother to be notified of the parcel’s arrival.  I was worried with the duration but was not alarmed because every time I cross-checked with the post office, I was informed that the parcel has not yet arrived.  However, when my brother went to collect the parcel, he was told that someone else has already collected the parcel.  This irked me a lot…

I felt let down by the system.  They did not provide the service that I was expecting.  The quality of the service was very poor.  The cost in monetary terms was fair compared to other private providers but zero reliability as with most public service providers.  In other words, the institution is there to provide us with the services that we need but somehow the procedures that they have in place do not produce the intended results.

Consumed with displeasure, I made it my mission to find out the reason behind the scene above.  All along I was just waiting to expose the limitations of post office.  To let everyone know that as with all public institutions/corporations in Malawi, they absolutely cannot do their job.  That Malawi Post Corporation system has flaws that need to be amended.  This was initially the motto for my article this fortnight.

But from the moment I made the first call to Blantyre (that was the only telephone number I obtained from MPC’s website), I was met by enthusiastic and caring members of staff.  I was moved of course from one person to another, one telephone number to another and one branch to another but it was done in good faith.  They were trying to help me get answers to my case.  I started in Blantyre and ended up in Lilongwe where the parcel was delivered.  I talked to the enquiries department and some branch managers.  Before embarking on this search mission, I did not know anyone at MPC yet everyone I talked to was helpful.   Though I am still searching for answers, this is what touched me most and made me reflect on my intentions before making those calls, what we all say or assume before knowing the stories behind the public institutions way of doing things. It made me reflect on the stereotyping of public servants as arrogant, lazy and corrupt.  Most of all, it made me confirm why Malawi is branded as the Warm Heart of Africa with friendliest people. I am definitely proud to be Malawian…

…my other encounters with public institutions/corporations…

I have not had too many encounters with public institutions worthy a mention here but from what I recall they have mostly been successful.  And this is coming from someone with no connections at all at any level (I am just an average Nabanda).  Maybe I am just a lucky person but I prefer to believe that it is because there are people there doing their job regardless of their surroundings.

For example, as far as I remember, I have never had big problems with the immigration office. Believe me, I have been to the immigration office a lot of times.  My son had his first passport when he was just 2 weeks old and it was issued within a period of 2 weeks.  They even informed me via phone that the passport has been issued.  No one has ever asked anything in return of the passports.  I had to wait in the queue of course as any other person for hours some times, but once I submitted my papers, all was clear.  The only time I had an unpleasant encounter at the immigration office was last year when one of the officials was to my opinion a bit rude.  He flatly refused to process my passport without proper explanation but I pushed on and ended up in another office where the official was professional enough to explain to me that they will do their best to issue the passport but they did not have enough resources at that point in time.  That was what I exactly needed at that time, professionalism.  Sometimes it just takes a bit of explaining to make others understand of what is going on and in return change their mindset towards institutions.

…the point is…

Yes, it istrue that nothing is working in Malawi.  It is true that all public systems seem to have faults.  But it is equally true that some members of staff in these public institutions do their best to keep the systems working.  They try to be professional with the little they have.  It’s always easy to point fingers at others, to find culprits.  However, it is difficult to acknowledge the good in others, to appreciate their efforts.  Let us not always dwell on the negatives instead let’s look at the positives and try to build on them.  I am not saying that we should neglect the negatives (they have to be sorted out accordingly of course).  I can’t mention the MPC’s members of staff that I talked to yesterday but I would like to thank them for demonstrating to me that there is hope in our systems, that we have some good people out there doing their job.  I just wish that they were more of them.  We might not be the policy makers of these institutions, but these good employees should know that with every good gesture they make towards customers it is well received and positively changes the image of the institutions.

…to those who do their best in public institutions for us to have the services we need, thank you…