ICT critical to development—Govt

Malawi government has pledged to continue supporting the information and communication technology (ICT) industry as it remains critical to its efforts in fostering business and entrepreneurship as well as poverty and illiteracy elimination.

Malawi’s Secretary for Information and Civic Education Anthony Livuza said this on Monday when he officially opened a five-day training workshop on Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) for the Eastern and Southern African region in Blantyre.

He added that government will foster strong partnerships with the ICT industry in formulating policy, developing diverse content and building capacity.

“Communication and information hold the key to development in the 21st Century. Much of the poverty in our midst, much of the illiteracy among the population, much of the isolation in our communities can be tackled when people have access to information on various issues affecting their lives,” he said.

In his speech, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) director general Charles Nsaliwa said the workshop would provide an opportunity for broadband business, technology and regulatory experts to share knowledge, experiences and views on the future of the industry.

“This year’s course on broadband wireless access systems has again come at the right time when Malawi is at the peak of utilising ICTs in various sectors to enhance economic growth. The workshop will also analyse the current status of technology and deployment of BWA and 3G/4G systems in the region based on the spectrum issues and challenges with respect to the recommendations and resolutions from the WRC-12 meeting,” said Nsaliwa.

He also pointed out that Macra would continue working closely with consumers both in rural and undersaved areas to ensure that they utilise ICTs.

The workshop is being facilitated by the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (Afralti) in partnership with Macra.

One of the facilitators, Jared Baraza, said the workshop would focus on the technological, economic and regulatory factors that influence the availability and deployment of wireless broadband services.

He said it would also analyse the current status of technology and deployment of BWA and 3G/4G mobile systems in different African countries.