Facebook engages govt to invest in Malawi

Facebook is in talks with Malawi Government to bring infrastructure that will connect more Malawians to the Internet.

Speaking at a meeting held in Blantyre at Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) offices, Facebook’s Africa, Access and Connectivity public policy manager Kojo Boakye said the project will empower Malawians to build, share and connect with other communities.

“We have made investments and are making investments across Africa, looking at trying to resolve some of the key infrastructure challenges in two areas as wholesale–fibre backhaul network and wireless technologies to connect rural areas,” he said.

Boakye explained that Facebook aims to replicate some of the investments made in other countries such as Uganda.

“We believe the government of Malawi is ready to facilitate this project. We are here to talk with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and Macra to understand how we are going to assist. Once we find the right partners and authorisation to move fast, we will do a similar work in Malawi as we did in countries like Uganda,” he said.

In her remarks, Facebook public policy manager for the Sadc Region, Emilar Gandhi, said Facebook prioritises safety of people who use Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Macra director-general Godfrey Itaye said the project will limit the abuse and curb cybercrimes of social media.

He said: “Facebook is investing in different countries and Malawi should also benefit from the project. We are looking at training to curb abuse of the platforms. We have a number of cyber cases like bullying, fake news and defaming articles.”

The meeting was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and Fiscal Police. n