Government to increase access to information through provision of affordable internet services

Maravi Express

In January, 2021 the government developed the Access to Information Act (ATI) regulations which is being implemented in collaboration with the Malawi Human Rights Commission and as initiative to increase access to information for Malawians, President Lazarus Chakwera’s is set to provide affordable internet services.

Chakwera said this today, February 3 in his State of the Nation (SONA) address in Parliament, saying to accomplish that, his Administration successfully negotiated for the 75% reduction on the lower volume bundles and the Pay As You Go (PayGo) rates by Airtel Malawi Plc. and TNM Plc.

“In the coming year, we will be implementing Phase II of the National Fiber Backbone Project, which will further reduce data landing costs and this coming year, we will be pursuing a governance digitalization agenda with greater focus.

“Aside from adding digitalization to the portfolio of the Ministry of Information, my Administration just completed the installation of equipment for Local Area Networks (LANs) in 14 buildings at Capital Hill.

“This is in addition to the National Data Center being constructed in Lilongwe to harmonize all critical systems of MDAs. We have also earmarked 16 schools, 2 markets, 2 airports, and hospitals for free public WI-FI service.”

He said another target for building the capacity of the people is the empowerment of such disenfranchised social groups as women, children, youths and persons with disabilities.

“In pursuit of this, we have been addressing and will continue addressing system gaps in the social security of these important demographics.

The following are some of the notable programmes in this regard:

* We implemented the Literacy Programme; Women Economic Empowerment Programme; Village Savings and Loans Programme; Probation and Rehabilitation Programme; and Ending Child Marriage Initiatives;

* We disbursed MWK42 billion to 293,522 households in all 28 districts of the country, 70% of which benefited women, to cushion marginalized groups against the lack of basic needs in this harsh season of economic recovery;

* We intensified awareness campaigns against Gender Based Violence by training the Police, Magistrates, Health and Social Workers throughout the 16 days of activism;

* We assisted a total of 587 learners with albinism with protective equipment and school fees to continue their education safely across the country;

* We reintegrated 1,544 children from the streets to their respective homes, and provided psychosocial support to 62,650 primary caregivers, parents and community members; and

* We rescued 11,729 children from child marriage and provided psychosocial support to all of them.

To succeed in either delivering the long-term priorities and diffusing the short-term pressures, or fixing the broken systems cannot be done without good governance.

“Fixing the governance system to deliver our ambitious developmental agenda is critical. Those fixes of the governance system must not be confined to one or two governance institutions, but all of them, for the framers of our Constitution intended all of them to be indispensable and each of them to be accountable.

“Take the fight against corruption by the institutions within our justice system, for instance. We cannot win that fight unless the Anti-Corruption Bureau has the power and resources to investigate cases freely.

“In turn, the Anti-Corruption Bureau cannot succeed without a winning strategy for managing, prosecuting, and winning cases as directed by the Directorate of Public Prosecution. In turn, the Public Prosecutor cannot end corruption by prosecution alone without other supporting anti-corruption strategies from the Office of the Attorney General.

“In turn, the Attorney General cannot enhance the drive against corruption if he is allowed to enter settlements out of court without a system of accountability, which is why my Administration will be amending the Civil Procedures Act to establish a Committee responsible for making recommendations to the Attorney General before settling claims above a certain threshold.

“In turn, the Attorney General cannot succeed in defending public resources against fraudulent settlement claims against Government if the Courts are compromised or not given enough funds to clear the backlog of cases going back decades.”

He said he mention these interconnections to demonstrate why his Administration’s fight against corruption and lawlessness has had a system-wide approach.

“I am therefore as proud of the successful investigations into corrupt acts as I am of the lawful arrests effected by the Malawi Police Service, or of the hundreds of criminal cases our prosecutors have won, or the billions in taxes the Attorney General’s office has saved by defending Government in court, or the guilty verdicts the Courts have handed down against corruption culprits.

“We will therefore continue this system-wide approach to fixing the governance system in the coming Fiscal Year, ensuring that no institution is hindered from fulfilling its Constitutional mandate, nor operating in violation of the laws that regulate how its officers should work or relate to other institutions.

“Most importantly, the interconnections between all our governance institutions is the reason why the only way to fix our broken system is to apply public sector reforms to the whole apparatus, not just parts of it.”

He added that during the 2021/2022 Fiscal Year, he tasked the Vice-President, Saulos Chilima to form a Taskforce and recommend how the whole governance system can be fixed.

“Going into the 2022/2023 Fiscal Year, Dr. Chilima and I, along with other governance stakeholders, will identify a set of recommendations from that Taskforce to be implemented over the next year as the first foundation of a system-wide overhaul and to be announced in due course.

“We cannot deliver our long-term priorities and diffuse our short-term pressures without partnerships as Malawi is a member of the global community and we cannot pretend that what happens to other nations in our region and beyond does not directly affect us.

“A virus on the other side of the world affects us; a trade policy on another continent affects us; a decision in the board room of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund affects us.

“A criminal investigation in another country affects us; a global economic summit we are not invited to affects us; a careless post on social media by a foreigner misinformed about vaccines affects us.

“Because of the deep historical, geographical, cultural, political, economic, and digital ties between us and other nations, harnessing partnerships with nations that have good will towards us is critical to the achievement of our priorities and the fixing of the systems we need for delivering them.

“For this reason, my Administration’s foreign policy in the year under review was focused on Development Diplomacy, and that will continue to be the case in the coming Fiscal Year.”

He singled out the support that the country’s development partners continue to give towards efforts to preserve and conserve the environment.

“It has enabled us to implement the commitments made at the Climate Change Conference. It has enabled us to establish the National Climate Change Fund. It has enabled us to implement policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It has enabled us to better manage forest resources, including the planting of 45 million trees of different species.

“It has enabled us to operationalize the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) to enhance enforcement of and compliance with environmental protection laws.

“In short, the international support we have received and hope to continue receiving is a key ingredient to the sustainability of our development.

“The same is true for the overwhelming support we have received from our Development Partners, both in cash and in kind, for the relief of our people in the Lower Shire, who are reeling from the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Ana.

“Such relief gives us hope that once the storm is over, we have enough friends to help us get back on track with our national development. So whether our partnerships are with nations in the Americas, or Europe, or Africa, or Asia; whether our partnerships are through trade deals, or diplomatic missions, or investment MOUs, or direct budgetary support, or cultural exchange programs, or academic scholarships; whether our partnerships are in the 53 provision of CoVID-19 supplies and vaccines through COVAX, or in bringing peace and security to our region, or in implementing mitigation and adaptation measures against Climate Change, or in promoting multilateralism in international institutions like the United Nations, the African Union, the Southern Africa Development Community, COMESA, and the Least Developed Countries; our singular and guiding interest as a nation is the sustainable development of Malawi and the prosperity of her people.

“This is what I have told the 166 Malawian diplomats being deployed to our foreign missions, 79 of whom have already reported for duties, while another 75 will leave in a few weeks.

“The desire to pursue development diplomacy is also the reason Government has recalled 78 diplomats, more than half of whom are back in the country. The changes are driven by national development interests, not political malice.

“In that context, our desire is to maximize the developmental opportunity available to our country because of our raised global profile occasioned by our boldness on the world stage, our chairship of SADC and the LDCs, and our clarity of vision about the Malawi we want.

“We may not be a developed, or large, or populous nation, but we are an accomplished one, a generous one, a brave one, a kind one, an intelligent one, and an entrepreneurial one.

“That is why wherever any Malawian walks on this earth, they have every reason to walk with confidence. For ours is no ordinary nation.

“Ours is the home of the fine sounds of Giddes Chalamanda, Wambali, Faith Mussa, and Namadingo; the home of the sporting exploits of Gabadinho and Mwawi Kumwenda; the home of the natural wonders of Lake Malawi, Mulanje Mountain, and Chambo; the home of icons for Justice like Martha Chizuma, Thabo Nyirenda, Steve Kayuni, and the Constitutional Court Judges.

“Ours is the land of the flag with a sun that is forever rising, just as we are. I yield the floor, Madam Speaker,” he concluded.