The five-year Malawi Digital Economy Strategy seems to be failing to meet some of its objectives to help reduce cost of digital services and devices two years on,  it has been learnt.

The 2021/26 Malawi Digital Economy Strategy, which was rolled out alongside the Malawi 2063 (MW2063), the country’s long-term development strategy, targeted to increase device ownership to 90 percent by 2022 through lowering costs associated with mobile phone purchases.

The strategy noted that the high cost of devices linked to taxes and tariffs at approximately 23 percent of the purchase price,  thereby limiting  the majority of the population from accessing essential communication platforms.

But two years on, available data shows that the proportion of people with access to basic digital gadgets such as mobile phones has been stagnant.

The 2023 Malawi Government Economic Report figures show that the number of people using and having access to mobile phones has remained minimal at about 60 percent of the population.

Gama: There is need to increase affordability as the cost remains a barrier

Reacting to the development yesterday, ICT Association of Malawi president Clarence Gama said the growth is not good enough, as such, there is need to address the cost and accessibility, among others, to ensure that access to digital services is widespread.

He said: “There is need to increase affordability as cost remains a barrier, particularly for low-income households.

“Efforts should be made to reduce the cost of Internet services and digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to make them more accessible.”

Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito observed that high cost of digital services continues to remain a challenge for majority of consumers.

He said a good percentage of levies and service charges are taxes, a situation that has resulted in consumers paying more.

The strategy indicated that access to affordable digital devices and services will form part of Malawi’s Sustainable Development Goals.

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