By Evance Chisiano

Blantyre, March 21, Mana: Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has engaged communication practitioners, among them public relations officers (PROs) of ministries, departments and agencies, on the newly assented Data Protection Act.

At the opening of a two-day training workshop at Crossroads Hotel in Blantyre on Wednesday, MACRA Board Chairperson Bridget Chibwana said the Authority saw it necessary to raise awareness of the Data Protection Act among the communication practitioners because they deal with people's personal data in the course of their duties.

PROs from Malawi Institute of Education, Department of Disaster and Management Affairs, Southern Region Water Board, and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, among others, attended the Data Protection Act and Digital Profiling training.

During the training, the PROs were taken through various topics revolving around the Data Protection Act.

“Under the new Act, MACRA has been given a mandate to protect personal data and safeguard individual's privacy,” she added.

President Lazarus Chakwera assented the Data Protection Bill into an Act on February 1, 2023.

MACRA Director of Legal Services Thokozani Chimbe said Malawi's Data Protection laws will align with the international best practices.

“This will help to safeguard people's right to privacy,” she said, adding that MACRA will hold more awareness initiatives with various stakeholders on the new data protection laws.

She said the communication practitioners training was part of the Data Protection Act awareness.