By Solister Mogha
Zomba, March 22, Mana: Malawi Regulatory Authority MACRA says it will soon roll-out a SIM card and mobile phone re registration exercise as a way of reducing money fraud and other cybercrimes.
MACRA, Director General, Daudi Sulemani disclosed this on Friday in Zomba during a lecture on digital rights and the laws and myths at the University Malawi formerly Chancellor College.
Answering a question as to why there are an influx of mobile money fraud while MACRA has power to detect and control it, Sulemani said while efforts are being made to deal with cybercrimes, the first thing that MACRA will do was to re-register SIM cards.
He said unlike in the past where letters from chiefs, passport and other documents were used, the authority, will this time around use national identity cards as an identity in the SIM card re registration.
“Much as I agree with you about the influx, let me assure you that we are doing something. There were a lot of anomalies with the previous registration but the one we will do will be a very serious one,” he said.
Apart from registering SIM cards, the Director General also disclosed that there will be registration of mobile phones including those coming into the country.
“We have been having phones from outside the country unregistered but will not allow them to access our network henceforth,” he said.
Speaking on cyber security and digital rights lecture, Sulemani said the essence of the session was to raise awareness amongst the academia so that they too make informed decisions.
One of the students, Nohakela Khanje said the lecture was relevant, adding that the session made her understand cyber laws and what MACRA was doing to address cybercrimes.
“As a student in the media, this lecture has improved my understanding of digital rights. I am aware of the progress and challenges in the fight against cybercrime,” she added.
The lecture in Zomba is one of the public engagements, MACRA is conducting to raise awareness on progress in the fight against digital related fraud.
