President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has vowed that his government will not pay any ransom to individuals who hacked the system at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services.

Facing members of Parliament in the National Assembly on Wednesday, President Chakwera revealed that the system was hacked and the individuals that tampered with it are demanding huge sums of money in the name of ransom.

But the President assured that his government will not entertain the hackers, but, instead, find other means of resolving the glitches.

“For as long as I am President of this country, I will not allow the government to pay such an amount,” he said, adding that the department is already taking decisive steps to regain control of the system.

For the past week, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has not been able to print passports due to the system failure, leaving travelers stranded.