MACRA to implement new type approval regulations
Attendees during the meeting
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has cautioned importers, distributors, manufacturers, and vendors in the ICT sector to get their products approved through due process type approval.
Deputy Director of Technologies and Standards at MACRA Nicholas Kanyenda warned at an awareness campaign targeting stakeholders on Blantyre’s new Type Approval regulations.
MACRA announced plans to roll out the 2023 communications electronic equipment type approval regulations effective 1st December 2024 to set up guidelines for approving electronic equipment.
According to Kanyenda, all products on the market need to be approved and confirmed to local and international standards.
“The certification process involves all the manufacturers of ICT equipment and also the distributors of ICT equipment. They have to undergo the type approval process. The country needs to go through the type approval process because it safeguards the consumers as far as ICT usage is concerned.”
“The standardization that comes along with the type approval process ensures that equipment imported into the country meets the required high standards before they are used in the”
Ezekiel Mangani is Head of IT infrastructure and security at Old Mutual Malawi and he commended MACRA for the move saying it will ensure protect Malawians from hazardous electronic devices, including mobile phones and other electronics.
“It will help us to get rid of counterfeits because, in the past, we used to have issues whereby we would buy computers the vendor would say they are new, but then after using them for less than four or five months to see they have buggered up, they can’t be used anymore.”
“And then we realized later on that they are actually fabricated, maybe bought in Dubai or other places. So this will help maybe to get rid of such theft or deceiving the market” Mangani.
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