By Vincent Gunde
The Concerned Citizens of Malawi (People Power Movement) says it acknowledges that the fight against misinformation is an important endeavor in the digital age saying the spread of falsehoods can have damaging effects on the society.
The Concerned Citizens says the government’s decision to pour K5 billion into a machine designed to monitor social media during a time when people are dying from preventable diseases and going to bed hungry, is utterly misguided.
The Citizens say this is a time for the government to make a choice, prioritizing on the well-being of the people or prioritizing control of social media urging it to halt this purchase calling on all Malawians to join in ensuring that the voices are heard and the people’s rights are protected.
In a statement dated 15th January, 2025 signed by Comrades Edwards Kambanje and Oliver Nakoma, the Concerned Citizens have warned government that if it persists in its pursuit of this dangerous surveillance technology, they will stand idly against the decision.
The Concerned Citizens has assured government that they will mobilize the people of the country who are already suffering on misplaced priorities to ensure that the HASHCOM Company of Ghana tasked with installing this machine is blocked from entering the country.
In the statement, the Concerned Citizens of Malawi says they stand united in condemning the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority’s (MACRA) decision to award a contract to HASHCOM Ghana Limited of Atlantic Tower to supply, delivery, installing, commissioning and testing of integrated system to track misinformation and disinformation trends in Malawi.
The Concerned Citizens say leadership is about understanding the struggles of the people, and hard decisions in the best interests of the people especially when they are at their most vulnerable imploring the government to stop this reckless decision.
“The citizens of Malawi deserve more than surveillance, they deserve an opportunity to live with dignity, access basic necessities, and government must choose life over control, care over surveillance,” reads the statement in part.
The Concerned Citizens of Malawi has described the procurement of this machine as a direct threat to the people’s democratic rights observing that it is an infringement on the people to freely express themselves and access the information they need to make informed decisions.
