PS hails Malawi’s connectivity project
Ministry of Information and Digitilisation Principal Secretary (PS) Baldwin Chiyamwaka says Malawi has made significant strides in the Digital Malawi Foundation Project which is expected to end in October this year.
The PS made the remarks in Blantyre on Friday at a press briefing organised by the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) to update Malawians on the progress of the project.
“We have had 19 tech hubs where over 19 000 youths and women have been acquiring skills and these tech hubs have also been funding smaller tech hubs by giving them seed funding to ensure that they can operate on their own,” Chiyamwaka said.
Among other successes, the first phase has also extended connectivity to over 500 government institutions and established free Wi-Fi sites in public places, according to the PS.
Chiyamwaka, therefore, called on civil servants to embrace the new technology and ensure they migrate from using personal emails to government emails as that ensures safety of government data.
The first phase of the project has been implemented at an estimated cost of $72.4 million.
The second phase of the project is the upcoming Digital Malawi Acceleration Project which will run from November 2024 to October 2030 with an estimated cost of $150 million.
Said Chiyamwaka: “This phase will focus much on connectivity to ensure that the fibre network is completed thoroughly and we have infrastructure through fibre network all over the country, free Wi-Fi, especially in schools and in more public institutions.
“You will appreciate that many areas in Malawi now have Internet connection. We now have Internet connectivity in 360 public places, including government hospitals, schools and markets across the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chiyamwaka has disclosed that government approved two policies to be implemented in line with efforts of realizing a digital nation, one of which is the national digital policy.
PPPC project manager Chimwemwe Matemba said the second project will benefit more youths and women, citing the Luntha and Chuma initiative as one of the key projects.
He said: “A data centre is currently being constructed in Lilongwe under the current project but for it to be operational, there is need for systems and licences to operate the various tools so more support may be required.” Matemba said.
The Digital Malawi Project is a vision for a digitally empowered Malawi where every citizen has the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the digital economy.
