By Prisca Promise Mashushu
Lilongwe, May 15, Mana: The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has engaged various stakeholders including local leaders, church leaders, and civil society organizations on the new SIM card registration laws aimed at combating online fraud.
The engagement took place on Thursday at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe.
MACRA’s Deputy Director for Consumer Affairs, Kelias Malenga, explained that involving different community leaders will help effectively disseminate information about the new regulations to citizens within their respective communities.
He further expounded that the new regulations are a form of subordinate laws that have created a comprehensive resume of legal framework that will give details on how the SIM card registration process should be operated in terms of who, how and what documents to use when registering.
“We are planning to remove passports and licenses and only the National Identity card will be used during SIM card registration as it is the most prominent of them all and also it will help to maintain the integrity of the citizens to easily track the real owner if any laws have been misused or abused.
"This will enable real-time connectivity between the mobile operator's registration system and the National Registration Bureau (NRB) database, ensuring that biometric data matches accurately to prevent the submission of false information," he explained.
MACRA has also placed a limit of SIM card registration up to ten times from citizens and thirty times for company registration to it’s members depending on the type of SIM card required by the person.
Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Network Chairperson, Herbert Chakwawa—who also works with the Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEIN)—acknowledged the significant impact of fraud and scams, noting that criminals have been stealing money from people using SIM cards registered under false identities. He said the introduction of the new regulation brings hope for improved safety in mobile banking.
“This is a very crucial engagement, as it will help dispel misconceptions surrounding SIM card registration and build public trust in digital banking platforms such as Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba for financial transactions.
“A lot of challenges will be addressed concerning SIM cards registration as MACRA has impacted us with knowledge on how this initiative will benefit citizens,” he said.
Senior Chief Kalungu from Lilongwe commended the government through MACRA for the new development that will easily track people electronically thereby promoting transparency and accountability.
“This project will help people in our communities to know and understand the importance of SIM card registration and also it will make them feel safe to use the internet for business and online banking that is free from frauds and scammers,” he explained.
The initiative is set to commence in early July this year.
