Minister says Sadc still behind in ICT
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi has challenged communications regulatory bodies in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) to develop policies that can enhance ICT services for economic development.
He made the remarks on Monday in Lilongwe when he opened a three-day Universal Access and Service Committees meetings of Communications Regulators Association of Southern Africa (Crasa).
“It pains me each time I look at African indicators. We are not doing well and we need to continue doing more. As for the Sadc region, I want us to shine because we have invested a lot of knowledge wealth in our children.
“We just need to be focused and invest more in research and bring awareness to consumers on the available ICT services that have been necessitated by ICTs,” said Dausi.
The minister also underscored the critical role of modern ICT services in enhancing economic development, saying African countries’ economies could undergo rapid growth and diversity through participation in the information society, which was highly dependent on modern and active ICT services.
Crasa executive secretary Antony Chigaazira said his organisation focuses on universal access to ICTs and postal services so that the whole Sadc region should move in unison towards provision of advanced and modern communications technologies.
In her remarks, Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) board chairperson Mervis Mangulenje underscored the need to ensure that Crasa member countries’ national policies and regulatory frameworks allow their regulatory bodies to regulate roaming.
