Go forward by going back: License to drive

Going to any motor vehicle authority, I am reminded of Tolstoy’s opening line to Ana Karenina: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

My trip to the Malawi Road Traffic Authority on Monday of last week was no exception. What follows is a user’s guide to obtaining a license in Malawi.

I was instructed by a police office that after being in Malawi for three months, I was required to obtain a Malawi drivers’ license. Monday, I finally decided to end my streak of procrastination and dive into the bureaucracy of registering myself as an officially licensed driver.

1. Arrive at the Road traffic authority as early as possible. ( I arrived at 8:20am)
2. Go to the door labeled “1 Application room / 5 Driving license collection”, where you are immediately told to go to Window #3.
3. Proceed to Window #3 and ask for an application. Don’t worry if it says “Learner’s License Application”…I was told that the form itself doesn’t matter.
4. Enter Door #2. Oops…”Test going on!” you are warned by the attendant.
5. Wait.
6. Ok, Door #2 open now, go in and submit your application.
7. After submitting your application, you are told to go to the un-marked door at the end of the corridor for “scanning and printing”. DO NOT CONFUSE THIS ROOM WITH THE ROOM LABELED “6 Photograph, Fingerprint and Scanning”
8. Wait in line to be digitally fingerprinted (all 10 fingers) and photographed.
9. Once your biometrics are in the database, proceed to “4 Cashier office, card receiving and Enquiries.” Don’t be afraid make physical contact with others as you protect your place in line waiting to pay MK 5270. (NB: never go to this room with an “Enquiry”…As with most of the signs, you are bound to go wrong if you trust their advertised services.)
10. With your payment receipt in hand, return to Door #2 and submit all paper work.
11. Obtain your temporary license at wait for “one to two months” for the permanent card.

The experience was a mixture of technology and speed at times, chaos and misdirection at others. All said, I can’t say that the entire experience was entirely more frustrating that what I have undergone in the United States.