Regional body to help mitigate ICT problems

Director of information Gideon Munthali has said he is optimistic that governments will benefit from the Association of Regulators of Information and Communication for Eastern and Southern Africa (Aricea) annual general meeting (AGM) underway in Lilongwe.

Aricea is a consultative and collaborative forum which brings together regulators and associated actors in the information communication technology (ICT) sector in 19 countries in the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) region.

Speaking when he officially opened the AGM, Munthali said he was optimistic that stakeholders to the meeting will find a lasting solution to the problems affecting ICT service delivery systems in member countries such as intermittent electricity supply and high charges.

“We all know that there is a direct correlation between the levels of ICT and the national development of any country, but there is a biggest digital divide which is due to digital migration by many countries in our region which separates the rich and the poor in access to ICT. There is a need to find lasting solutions to address such problems in order to bridge the gap,” he said.

In his remarks, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) deputy director Francis Bisika said there is need for mitigation of disruptive potential of cyber-attacks by maintaining resilient systems and networks.

“Failure to act with speed would impose significant costs on governments, consumers, businesses and society. So, we are aiming at hosting a regional cyber security centre to be based in Rwanda to foster development,” he said.