Malawians in rural areas have backed government for suspending the mandatory SIM cards registration exercise that was being conducted by mobile services providers.
Minister of Information Nicholas Dausi announced on Monday that the process should be suspended until a time when Malawians especially those in rural areas have been civic educated.
In a snap survey that Malawi24 did in rural areas of Nkhotakota, many Malawians in the areas said government has done the right thing since people have to be first sensitised on the programme.
Margret Sambili from Ntanga village in Nkhotakota district said it is hard for the villagers to go for mandatory SIM registration since no one schooled them about the issue.
Simbili added that all responsible authorities need to go and civic educate people in rural areas on the exercise.
“I just heard that the SIM registration process is mandatory. Up to now no one told me in brief about the whole process. I can’t just go and be part of a thing that I don’t know,” she told Malaw24.
Another community member, Raphael Makiyi, said the distance was also a challenge since most of Malawians in rural areas can’t manage to go to town just to register their SIM card.
Makiyi added that government should urge the mobile service providers to find a way of registering rural Malawians in their villages.
Government on Monday ordered mobile phone service providers to stop SIM card registration across the country.
When announcing the suspension of the exercise, Minister of Information and Civic Education Nicholas Dausi acknowledged that there have been suspicions from the public over the SIM card registration exercise.
He said the suspension will only be lifted after satisfactory civic education has been conducted.
Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) last month told mobile phone subscribers to register their SIM cards saying the Communications Act of 2016 gives the regulatory body powers to enforce mandatory registration of SIM cards and generic numbers.
“Government on Monday ordered mobile phone service providers to stop SIM card registration across the country.”
That is not true! The suspension was simply announced in Parliament on Monday. The phone companies say that they have not been contacted to stop the registration, so they must continue with the exercise. In any case, it is not mandatory that the companies stop registering their sim cards, people can still do so voluntarily.
Such is the poor journalism in Malawi.
Malawi kutsalira mayiko anzathu anapanga regstration ma cards sometimes back osat ife bola kungosiya.
Ndipo live
Sim registering was done by MACRA, ordered by the DPP led govt. Rural people backed govt, who attacked the govt for what? The opposition was against while govt was for sim registration. The who is supposed to be backed here? Nosense reporter.
Am backed the govt point
kkkkk koma timuchotse mwamuona zuma
za ziii,zitakwana zomangoima mizerezi, mmalo molimbana ndikuthana ndi umphawi wathu tikhalire zimenezi?
I So Very Very Happy.Why Registaring Sim Card That Is Bad Idea
Ndiye omwe alembesa kalewo nanga?
Too bad that at first people said it bt our government refused or kept quite and now u come with ur story, corruption ,politics, what? Corrupted governance
Achita bwino ifeso zimatinyasa
Zachita bwino moti ee zimakwana bwanji udzisiya ntchito wapezere basi simukadi ,a achita bwino kuzi imitsa apeze njira ina kma yapezere ai a
Amangofuna Kuzuza Anthu
Moti Udzichita Zinthu Za Ntchito Basi Kumakakhala Pa Line Ndi Zazwi…..!!
Zazii zake ziti??
Koma iwe nkhaniyo sukuimvesa? ndiye ukufunsa kuti za ziiiiiii zake ziti
Point of correction conducted by government because mobile service providers were advised to so by government.
backed government from who???