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Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) says synchronising digital frameworks across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is a pathfinder in expanding digital revolution hence enabling the country to cement its position on the global market and tap maximum benefits from cross border trade.
MACRA Director General, Daud Suleman, made the remarks in Lilongwe on Monday during the first Single Digital Market Technical Meeting where Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are participating.
Suleman noted that digital transformation goes beyond Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as it cuts across areas of job creation and economic growth.
He further said Malawi alone does not have enough numbers hence the need to join hands with other SADC countries, projecting that the four counties can pool together about 70 million people, translating into a bigger and more sustainable market.
He, therefore, underlined the importance of sustaining the digital market amidst several challenges crippling ICT, adding that Malawi will work on identifying solutions around lack of capacity in the ICT discourse, importation of digital products and devices as well as legal frameworks.
Director of Business Development for Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority, Murphy Setshwane, weighed in on the need for the four countries to roll out One Network, saying it underlines the core values of SADC.
According to MACRA, authorities in all the four countries are doing all preparatory works to harmonise their systems, setting up the digital market to be ready by August this year.
