During the commemoration of Internet Governance Forum,  Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology Mark Botomani says government is committed to making sure that Malawi is not lagging behind on the global digital transformation agenda that is taking course.

He said that development is timely as the “now generation is an Internet generation” from online courses online, farmers access markets, pregnant women get advisory services online and more. On the other hand, according to the latest Malawi Economic Monitor by the World Bank, high taxation as one of the major factors behind exorbitant internet charges in the country. The report says Malawi is far from competing with countries in the world on e-trade due to poor infrastructure, high Internet costs and connectivity challenges. Malawi falls on position 167, out of 176 countries in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ICT Development Index.

Meanwhile, Malawi is amidst implementing the e-passport, phasing out the old passport to meet international standards.