Malawi Parliament Backs Simcard Registration

Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Committee on Media and Information Communications Technologies have added their voices on the importance for telephone subscribers to register their simcards.

Speaking at a joint press briefing held at Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) offices in Blantyre, Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Media and Information Communications Technologies, Sam Kawale said members of parliament found it necessary to pass it into law considering the criminal activities that were on the rise on the market.

Kawale said it is a normal exercise aimed at protecting the phone user hence there is no need for people to fear anything.

“My committee is making a follow up on reports that the data base is indicating that some registered subscribers are not registered,” Kawale said

In his remarks Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee of Legal Affairs, Maxwell Thyolera said “MACRA should punish operators that will fail to comply with the deactivation deadline of 1st October.”

Thyolera added that Section 94 of the Communications Act makes it an offence for any person to use an unregistered sim card or generic number.