TO GET A MALAWIAN DRIVERS LICENSE...You will shake your head!!

So this was the process of getting a Malawian Drivers License....

You may get bored of the repetition that this story has...but it is a true life story of getting a Drivers License in Malawi. You will just shake your head in disbelief!

Okay...so the process was like this......hang on!....hehe

Day #1….
I went to Road Traffic (this is like a DMV for those in the states).
I waited in que (line) for about an hour to be told I would have to hike to the nearest copy place to get copies of my required documents. They had a copier a couple of years ago, but it broke. Hmmm.....

So I hiked out to a main road and asked around. Was directed to go to a distance further away and around to another corner to find a place to copy my documents by a security officer. He sent me somewhere that had NO such things.
So I hiked back and went the other direction and asked another security officer what he thought (I didn't have too many options on who to ask). He walked me down to an area that I had ever been to before that had options of where to go.
So I went inside....no body ahead of me...asked for the copies I needed and they took my stuff . I waited a few minutes and saw that their machine was printing mass amounts of something. So asked if it would be long, as there were other options to get this done.....they said it would be just a few minutes, that it would be worth the wait....and to have a seat (they had a couple of tall bar stools). Well that took a while and then it was too late to go back to start any process...as the road traffic closes at 3.

Day #2….
So I was there right after opening the next day and was 3rd in line to room #2. I waited 2 and 1/2 hours before the 1st person was helped because the staff was "in a meeting" (during the normal business hours after they opened their doors....weird). All he did after that long wait, was staple my papers together and then I then was sent to room #1 to another office and waited (a couple men encouraged me to see if they could help me quicker..even though I refused a few times..they didn't give up and I finally went into an area where a few others were already sitting…I was asked what it was I needed....I explained and she took my papers and gave my passport to somebody else that would take it to another private room and then back out to me (I have NO CLUE what they did)…and then I was sent to room #3...and waited in que behind all the others that had waited 2 1/2 hours to get the 1st person started (I think you get the picture). They typed something into the computer and then I was sent to #5a to pay my 1st portion of this process (after standing in a long que of course).

From there I was sent to room #7 where we actually had a seat and waited about 2 hours (well scootched one seat closer each time that one went forward) and watched all the people before us get finger printed (all 10 digits, one at a time by an electronic device) and then their picture taken. This room was very interesting and we all talked and laughed throughout the process….I caused one lady to have to do a retake because I gave her a bad time for not smiling and she looked my way when the camera flashed…everybody chuckled....even the men. The lady taking the pictures groaned when she saw the side view pic … Hehe …....oops!

I was then told to go to Room #5a to pay the 2nd portion of this process.
I was then sent to room #5b to show my receipt that I paid and they typed something into the computer and told me that this is all I can do for the day and that I would have to come back in a few weeks to finish the process……dang…..I have to go through this again!?!?*%@*!.
I asked if I could do it sooner while I was in town and they said the soonest I should try is 2 days out (but no guarantee).
I also found out that the receipt’s I had been getting would go back to them in the end to complete the process (?? Why is this??). So I requested a receipt for me, and I was told they don’t give them..that I didn’t need it and it was in their computer….okay…this is not going to work….. and I said that my agency that requires receipts, would not be able to “see” the receipts in their computer…so I need my own. They sent me to #5a….#5a said go to #5b…….#5b said go to the accounting department…….okay…that was one I hadn’t been to….lol

The accounting dept, was empty, so I waited until somebody came back and she understood what I was requesting...so she hand wrote a receipt and then we had to go to room #2 to get it officially stamped.

Day #3…. ARE YOU READY FOR ANOTHER ROUND?? hehe

So I started back in room #3, it looked like he checked something in the computer and sent me to room #5b. Rm #5b guy said to me..”I told you to go to rm #3 when you came back”…..I told him I did (it’s obvious that they can’t tell that I did …because they didn’t “DO” anything). Don’t know if he “did” anything either, but he sent me to room #2...I stood in que….and then was told I was suppose to go to Room #5a to pay the 3rd portion of the process. I was then sent to room #2 and they said I needed to go to Room #5b…and I questioned them, but they said this is where I needed to go. After standing in que for a long duration, this man told me I was suppose to go to room #2..I said “I just came from there and they said I needed to go to you!” He said they were wrong……and he personally marched me back down to the room #2 area…they were out, so he took me into somebody else’s office. He left, the guy in this office looked at my papers and said…go right back to the guy that brought you here and give him these papers. I had to wait a while to get people to let me squeeze back in front of the line to tell him I was told to come right back to him…..this was room #5b. He typed something into the computer and then said you need to go to room #5a to pay the final payment (4th).
While I was in line to pay this final payment..I had lots of time to review the last page they printed out for this part of the process. I saw that somebody along the way made an error in my address…..I knew this couldn’t be good and it would cause more waiting……well, I told the guy in rm #5a…and he said to tell the guy in #5b (of course). So back to #5b...the “last line” and I was told that I would have to go somewhere else to get the address fixed (he pulled his curtain back and pointed to another building door and said “you have to go there….I can’t fix it”…..can you say…….CRAZY!!!!
He decided to help me out and yelled out his window for the guy to come over and take this for me to get it fixed. I waited about 15 more minutes and was then able to sign the corrected paper that would be my temporary drivers license if I were to need it before coming back to this facility to pick up my DL card in 6 weeks (yes 6 weeks)….which I will pick up in Room #3….(hopefully!)

Are you dizzy? So....please, please American’s…don’t complain about DMV and how long it takes……at least once up to the counter……they take care of everything at one counter/room (except your pic) and you don’t spend 3 days doing this process.

Also…this process has a couple more steps for the Malawians….they have to also take their written test and driving test (like we do). I was also told that they have to have 40 lessons/hours with a driving school before they can apply.

Also imagine…what this would be like for a women with a child/baby with her trying to get through all of this……I saw it!

Also…when all of these people are there for the day, trying to get through these process’….they have to stay in que to keep the process going and not go away for meals or drink…..or restroom……etc.

Are you still shaking your head?