Daniel Chiwoni, MACRA’s head of data protection framework
* The regulations will outline the information to be submitted during the registration process and the fees to be paid
* The framework will specify when the registration process is complete and how MACRA will communicate to the registrants
By Pempho Kantayeni, MANA
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) organised a validation workshop with various stakeholders in Lilongwe yesterday to sensitise them on draft framework for data protection registration regulation it has developed — which will require data controllers and processors to register with the authority at a fee.
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In his presentation, Head of Data Protection, Daniel Chiwoni explained that the purpose of the workshop was to engage with stakeholders on developing the framework to support the Data Protection Act by providing detailed processes on how MACRA will regulate the processing of personal data in the country.
“So we have developed, for now, two sets of regulations; the first one being the data protection registration regulations,” he said. “Under the Data Protection Act, there is a requirement that those that are processing vast amounts of data of significant importance — we call them data controllers and data processors — should register with MACRA.”
Chiwoni emphasised that the regulations will outline the information to be submitted during the registration process and the fees to be paid.
He added that the framework will specify when the registration process is complete and how MACRA will communicate to the registrants.
Chiwoni highlighted that Data Protection Handling Regulations will address the complaints from data subjects affected by processing activities by providing a process for handling complaints lodged with the data protection authority.
“The framework will specify the period within which a company must respond to a complaint and the steps to be taken afterward,” he said.
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One of the participants, Executive Director for Youth Initiative, Precious Phiri said the new regulations and protocols will help in safeguarding data and privacy in the country.
“The workshop will help us to actually safeguard the data and the privacy for almost everyone in Malawi,” he said. “So, what we’re trying to do is to safeguard these by putting protocols so that people should be safeguarded, whereby people cannot hack and issues of identity theft should not happen.”
The regulations aim to streamline the registration process and ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act and in order to ensure that data subjects rights are protected, MACRA has also developed draft Data Protection Complaints Handling Regulations.
