Lack of a comprehensive system of street naming and property numbering has a detrimental impact on provision of services and affects businesses in the country, Minister of Economic Planning and Development Atupele Muluzi has said.
Speaking during the opening of a two-day workshop on the Physical Addressing and Postcodes Project in Lilongwe on Thursday, Muluzi said Malawi is the only country in the Sadc region which is behind in street naming and property numbering.
 “Malawi lacks a comprehensive system of street naming and property numbering. Without an addressing system, businesses’ ability to operate efficiently is compromised. Utility companies, courier operators and banks have to establish a complex system of identification of an individual involving third party references,” he said.
He added that having a national physical addressing system gives the country an opportunity to develop efficient service delivery systems reaching the targeted beneficiaries at the right time.
Speaking at the function, post master general Andrew Kumbatira said that his organisation is learning from South Africa and Tanzania on how they successfully launched the projects in their countries.
“People might be questioning if it would be possible to reach customers in areas such as Mchesi, Mbayani and Zolozolo but we know this is possible. Once we properly name our streets and our property, everything will easily fall in place,” said Kumbatira.
He added that the system will provide postcodes to every geographic region in Malawi, facilitating more efficient delivery services and marketing opportunities.
Apart from providing business opportunities to Malawians, the system will also help the Police, fire fighters and ambulances to easily reach their targets unlike the present situation.
The project is also expected to improve the provision of health services and maintenance of personal health records as well as connect individuals to local and central government.
The project is being managed by the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), which chairs its steering committee.
