Parliamentary Committee on International Relations has commended the role the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) plays in improving the use of technology in the country.
Chairperson for the committee, Patrick Bandawe, said it is high time that MACRA should engage all relevant stakeholders in the implementation of all interventions to improve the use of ICT in the country.
Bandawe said this during a brief training on Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the MACRA and ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM) at the Parliament building in Lilongwe.
This training was done considering that AI is a rapidly growing field that is being discussed and explored in various conferences and events around the world and impacts different industries.
During one of the presentations, one of the ICTAM officials, Tiyamike Tizifa, briefed members on how artificial intelligence apps can improve different sectors of development such as agriculture, health, climate change, education, tourism, transport, finance, mining, and judiciary among others.
It was revealed that AI can be used to help doctors understand medical imagery better for example TB diagnosis which among others can reduce human error and improve security.
MACRA Director General, Daud Suleman, assured the committee that the authority is trying to make sure that the country is moving with the technology.
Suleman said the AI Application will bring a lot of benefits to the country once it is adopted to be using.
“Use of artificial intelligence apps will address the problem where the police find it difficult in dealing with cybercrime issues”, Suleman said.
He also disclosed that MACRA, in partnership with different sectors, is introducing a lot of interventions across the country to improve in use of technology.
“As one way to improve the use of ICT in the country, the government is in the process of introducing computer programming in some primary and secondary schools. We are also constructing new ICT labs in all constituencies across the country”, he said.
He further asked parliament to support MACRA interventions such as the operationalization of the Data Protection Act, public awareness, and sensitization so that the country moves with the level of technology.
Malawi is holding the International ICT Expo from 9-10 May 2024 at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
