Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) is pushing for the enactment of type approval regulations, which will empower it to reject importation of sub-standard electronic gadgets.

According to Macra director of telecommunications Edward Kauka, the regulation seeks to protect Malawians as well as the environment as the country fights for proper disposal of electronic equipment.

He was speaking during the national electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) waste management policy validation workshop in Lilongwe on Thursday.

Kauka: We are looking at
certification of standards

Among others, the policy seeks to ensure proper disposal of electronic waste, change people’s behaviour towards EEE usage and enforce quality in the production of the electronic equipment.

Challenged that there are no clear regulations to guide the policy, Kauka said Macra was banking on the type approval regulations.

“We are looking at certification of standards of gadgets that come to Malawi. Any substandard equipment will be rejected once the regulations come into place,” he said.

Speaking during the workshop, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) programme officer Anne Rita Ssemboga said Malawi and most African countries have become dumping grounds for electronic equipment.

She urged governments to put in place policies to stop the conduct “or the countries would be exposed to harmful chemicals that would hurt humans and the environment”.

Ssemboga said: “Most African countries do not have a framework that deals with handling of electronic waste. I believe we have generated more than 400 000 tonnes of e-waste.

“We get so many people that bring old electronic gadgets that have reached the end of life. They bring them to our continent. You use them for just about one month and they are broken down and we don’t know how to dispose of them,” she said.

ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies

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