Govt communication policies under review

Government, through the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, is reviewing its policies to address gaps in the communication process to effectively communicate to the public.

Some of the policies undergoing review are Malawi Digital Broadcasting Policy, the National Information Communication Technology Policy and the National Access to Information Policy.

Speaking at a four-day media training on Ethics in Agriculture reporting at Sunbird Livingstonia in Salima on Tuesday, director of information in the ministry, Gideon Munthali, said the process has just started this year.

He said these gaps have existed for a long time.

“We cannot make progress in communicating effectively if these gaps continue to exist; the government wants to address all these gaps,” he said.

According to Munthali, there is a lot of work that has to be done to sort out the challenges experienced in the communication industry, including reviewing all the policies, laws and tools used in communication.

One of the participants, Kingsley Jasi of Rainbow Television, said with no clear communication policy, government machinery does not prioritise information sharing as an important aspect of its operations.

He added that there is also a weak institutional framework for handling information which affects journalists when sourcing information.