… embassies over staffed
….govt too broke
Malawi Government is broke that it has reduced some of its diplomatic staff to become destitutes as they have gone months without pay.
Diplomats recieve monthly foreign service allowances calculated differently for each station and Washington DC, Malawis embassy to United States, Canada and other countries staff have gone three months without FSA.
In Geneva staff received their last pay in April and the situation is also dire in Belgium, Germany, India, China, Japan and New York.
Diplomats who spoke to The Investigator Magazine said the situation is dire as people live in rented accommodation.
The situation is less dire in Africa though one mission was recently threatened with eviction for failing to pay rentals, diplomats said.
The Investigator Magazine has contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a comment and will update the story once we recieve their comment.
In 2018 a review recommended staffing embassies with only six diplomats per station save for a few whose number was pegged at 8 due to the nature of operations.
This was implemented 2019 but reversed by President Lazarus Chakweras administration which doubled the numbers in most missions mainly composed of family, friends and persons with ties to senior officials.
In 2018 the Ministry required a minimum of US$400,000 (K500 million) per month to run embassies monthly but the wage bill has trippled since 2021 and officials say they have a huge funding deficit and no foreign exchange to pay diplomats.
