The United States has rejected 39 visa applications from officials to attend the spring meetings by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Just four visa applications out of 43 applications were granted, sources have told Malawi News.
The rejection of the visas has prompted an official request for clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to a source, the US Embassy granted visas only for the Minister of Finance, the Secretary to the Treasury, the Reserve Bank Governor, and the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Commissioner General.
The source further said that those denied visas included traditional chiefs, spouses of the officials and some senior party members.
Public Affairs Officer at the embassy, Grant Phillipp, refused to comment.
He said any questions regarding the letter of protest by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be addressed to the ministry.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Principal Secretary, Mcloud Polepole, confirmed to Malawi News of the visa rejections but refused to give more details.
“I believe ‘rejection’ is a strong word because we apply for visa, which can be denied or given to the applicant, so these people were not rejected, but their application was not granted,” Polepole said.
In its letter, the ministry said it has “noted with great concern the high rejection rate of visa applications submitted by Malawian government officials traveling on official business to the United States of America.”
“The ministry acknowledges that the issuance of visas and entry into the USA is at the discretion of the U.S. government. However, the ministry has made significant efforts to comply with the agreed procedures, as outlined in Diplomatic Note No. 079/2024, dated 2 May 2024,” reads the letter.
The letter further said the ministry would appreciate more clarity from the embassy regarding the rejections.
“Despite reasons being provided for the rejections, the Ministry is currently facing difficulties explaining to government officials why their travel for official duties has been denied, despite fulfilling all visa application requirements,” it added.
Polepole refused to comment on the details of the letter.
“Since you said the letter was being addressed to the embassy, please find out with the embassy since the letter was being addressed to them, they will be in a position to tell on the details since the Visa application is confidential,” Polepole further said.
Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said attendance of the IMF Spring Meetings is by invitation from the IMF.
“Reasons for denying visas to individuals intending to travel to the USA are not necessarily communicated to the government, but to the individual applicants. Those applicants may belong to various sectors in the country that are in a better position to confirm this matter and provide further clarification,” Kunkuyu said.
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