Macra plans nationwide smart city initiative
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has unveiled plans to undertake an initiative that will facilitate the development of a Smart City in Malawi.
The initiative, dubbed Making a City Smart, seeks to mitigate problems that are mainly generated by the country’s growing urban population.
In a statement from Macra made available to Malawi News Agency (Mana), the authority said the Smart City Initiative will be piloted in Blantyre City but will be replicated in other cities upon the successful completion of the pilot phase.
“Smart Cities rely on, among others, a collection of smart ICT technologies and solutions that are applied to critical infrastructure components and services.
“For the purpose of this call, Macra and the council will consider proposals or opinion in the areas of broadband connectivity through creation of Wi-Fi zones in identified recreation areas, parks, streets, hospitals, ICT innovation and tech hubs.
“Other areas include E-waste management, E-health services, E-transport systems, E-education, security management and enhancing revenue collection for city councils,” the statement further reads.
Macra and Blantyre City Council have since started solicitiing views from both private and public sector institutions and individuals on the initiative. The ideas can be submitted to Macra by August 15 2016.
