Speaking soon after the official opening on Thursday 17th January, the Minister said, Thumbwe Telecentre is a clear example of government’s commitment to develop

Chiradzulu. He further said through the telecentre students, traders and people from all walks of life will benefit as it will act as an information hub.

“There are students here learning various trades at Thumbwe Community Technical College. One of the courses is Information Communications Technology. The coming in of

the telecentre offers an opportunity to the students to practice what they learn in class.

“Secondly, those engaged in business and who would like to search for information like prices and markets of goods, will be able to get that at the click of a button. This is

the development that people are looking for and the DPP Government is delivering,” said Mussa.

On his part, Henry Silika, Director of Telecommunications at Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), said the institution would like to scale up internet

accessibility across the country.

“This is a fulfillment of the mandate given to us in the Communications Act. We work with politicians in areas we have built telecentres so they can mobilize the community in

ensuring that the facility is secured and is operating to expected standards.

“We also appoint a committee that oversees daily operations of the centre and besides that we engage an entrepreneur for effective commercial management of the entity.

Another aspect is that Members of Parliament in all constituencies where we have telecentres are urged to engage their communities on proper care of the facilities.” said

Silika.

MACRA has also provided computers, photocopiers and yearlong full internet connectivity to the telecentre.

Cross-section of the crowd addressed by the Minister

On the sidelines of the official opening of the telecentre, Mussa also addressed a rally where he articulated various development agendas for Chiradzulu East Constituency. He

said the constituency has seen a number of developmental projects being implemented as such he urged the constituents to rally behind the governing DPP for continued

development.

Earlier in the day the Minister paid a courtesy call to Telekom Networks Malawi Limited in Blantyre. He told the press that he highlighted to TNM management on the general

concerns of subscribers, paramount being high cost of data.

In his remarks TNM’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Eric Valentine said it is possible to reduce the cost of data if some parameters are met.

Minister of Information (Left) and Acting CEO of TNM

He said, “The meeting centred on finding solutions to some concerns raised. I shared with the Minister that in Malawi we need to create our own digital economy. There’s need

to significantly reduce our reliance on information that is generated outside our borders by creating content and developing apps that are hosted right here in Malawi in that

way we will drive down cost of communications especially data. This calls for continous innovation on our part. I strongly believe in creating our own digital economy, surely

that will be a game changer.”