By Mwai Kumanda

Lilongwe, November 7, Mana: Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communication has expressed a concern over the delays by Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA), on the construction of computer laboratories in schools under project dubbed Connect A School (CAS).

Speaking during the site visit at Kalumba Community Day Secondary School (CDSS), in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kalumba on Thursday, Chairperson for the Committee Susan Dossi said, it is sad to see that the project that was supposed to take three months only, is not yet even roofed after several months.

“As members of Parliamentary Committee on Media as well as Education Committee, we are not happy with what we have seen. We are therefore requesting MACRA to speed the process of construction of these laboratories so that leaners and the surrounding communities should start using the equipment as planned,” She said.

Dossi then disclosed that very soon the committee will engage the Universal Service Fund (USF), as well as the board for MACRA so that they explain what has caused the delay and make a way forward.

“This project is very important and we need to take it seriously knowing that the world is going digital and we don’t want our country more especially the youth in rural areas to remain behind in a digital world,” Dossi said.

In his remarks, one of the members of the Committee, Kamlepo Kaluwa, said the delays are affecting the youth in the communities where MACRA is constructing the ICT labs, and urged MACRA to speed up the process so that the people at Kalumba can start benefiting from the computer laboratory.

MACRA’s Human Resource Manager, Glad Ngwira, said they have taken note of the concerns raised by the committee and they will make sure to work on the concerns.

“As MACRA we thought it was wise to invite the parliamentary committee to come and appreciate what MACRA is doing, and as you know in any project there are different challenges and this one is no exception.

“But what I can say is that we have taken note of all the observations and I am optimistic that the management will find a way forward,” he said.