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Malawi chairs continental ICT body

Malawi has assumed the leadership for the African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute (Afralti) general council, it has been learnt.

The news was broken during the 63rd Afralti General Council meeting in Lilongwe yesterday and that Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) director general Daud Suleman will chair for a year on behalf of the country.

Minister of Information and Digitalisation Gospel Kazako, who presided over the opening of the meeting, said Malawi will use its tenure to leave a legacy.

Kazako: You have to leave a legacy

He said the country stands to benefit a lot from the position as well as associating with others.

Said Kazako: “When you are chair, there are certain things that you influence to happen without necessarily being unethical.

“When you are chair, you know you are going there to protect and defend your interest. You also know that you are saving as a chair and at the end of the day you have to leave a legacy.”

The minister challenged Afralti to advance information communication technology (ICT) that responds to Africa needs, saying the growth and future of African economies depends on ICT.

“The future is digital. Africa needs a lot of digitalisation, needs alot of ICT interventions. This is why even here in Malawi we are doing all we can to invest. For instance, you might have seen that the data costs have gone down, that is part of the movement,” said Kazako.

He also called on the Council to ensure that more African countries become part of it.

On his part, Afralti chief executive officer William Baraza said they will develop a new strategic plan aimed at promoting digitisation in Africa.

He said Afralti expects Malawi as council chair to promote dynamism in leadership as well as inject new ideas that will see the body become a world centre of excellence.

Afralti is an inter-governmental institute based in Kenya but working in various countries including Malawi, tHE Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Kenya, Eswatini, Mozambique and Uganda. Its goal is to promote ICT.

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