Due to lack of a comprehensive system of street naming and property numbering in Malawi, the government through the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) is implementing the National Addressing System (NAS) with an aim of improving provision of services in the country.
Speaking in Chiradzulu, NAS manager Limbikani Sekani highlited funding and vandalism as the main challenges they are experiencing amidst the implementation.
“To date, Macra is the only financier for the NAS. The inadequacy of financial resources has slowed down the implementation drive,” he said.
“A huge percentage of financial resources goes into the procurement of physical infrastructure namely road signages and property numbers and it is sad that people are deliberately removing these infrastructures,” he added.
According to Sekani, the national implementation is coming after a trial of the same in the four major cities namely Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
In the third phase, Macra is targeting Chiradzulu, Mangochi, Balaka Luchenza municipal in the Southern region.
Once fully implemented, the National Addressing System (NAS), will contribute to the national development of the country by, among other things, improving the delivery of public and commercial services. The NAS will not only improve the provision of postal and courier services but also communication and tangible economic growth.
