Pressure continues to mount for the state-owned Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority—MACRA to halt its planned move to award Hashcom Ghana Limited a contract to supply a spy machine, worth a staggering K4.5 Billion.
This deal has raised eyebrows, with many questioning the legitimacy and value of the partnership. The criticism has faced similar scrutiny over President Lazarus Chakwera’s led government’s abilities to find strange and ambiguous middlemen around the world who have no mercy to work in a cartel to plunder poor taxpayers’ money.
Recently, the Government of Malawi under the watch of Chakwera has been embroiled in financial scandals like the Bridgin Foundation, the butchery fertilizer, the Eastbridge company, the controversial ‘Chief’ and now, a man identified as “Baba Halidu Musa” whom MACRA believes has all the credentials to supply them with the spy machine.
Recently, to raise their discontent over the deal, a pressure group comprised of Malawians in the diaspora and within the country under the banner “Democracy and Governance Advocacy Group”—DGA Malawi.
Through a letter addressed to MACRA and copied to the secretary for information and communications technology, the office of the Ombudsman, the Malawi Human Rights Commission—MHRC, Malawi Law Society—MLS and the Office of Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority—PPDAA, DGA leaders, Kondwani Bell Munthali and Louis Nkhata believes the move lacks substance and is only a conduit to drain money from public coffers, adding, MACRA has failed to demonstrate how the contract was awarded to this company but also how the spy machine would provide Malawians with economic returns.
The group also argues that Hashcom Ghana Limited lacks a formal management structure and relies on a single individual, identified as Baba Halidu Muss, for its operations.
According to DGA Malawi, this raises more questions about the company’s capacity to perform a project of such magnitude.
Recently, MACRA DG Daudi Suleman told local media outlets that the spying software had benefited Malawians but failed to explain how the move would ensure and guarantee privacy and free speech for Malawians.
All in all, DGA believes MACRA intends to use the machine to suppress freedom of speech in the digital space.
“The move contravenes the constitution of the Republic but also the MACRA act which guarantees freedom of speech and right to privacy. By using the machine, MACRA is drifting away from its constitutional mandate of raising digital awareness of digital rights or security, but it has no power to monitor what people are writing on social media.
“The move is only a way of trying to police Malawians on digital space,” reads an excerpt of the letter.
The group has further asked authorities, including the office of the Ombudsman, to ensure that MACRA should not proceed with the deal and that an investigation should be instituted forthwith to review how the company was granted the contract.
The deal has sparked public outrage, especially at this juncture when the country is grappling with numerous socio-economic challenges ranging from fuel scarcity, acute hunger and high inflation, primarily due to insufficient stocks of forex in the country.
Despite the continued calls for MACRA to suspend the deal, Suleiman has constantly defended the move and maintains that the authority will go ahead with its plan of procuring the system from Hashcom Ghana Limited.
He argues that the system will not be used for analyzing digital trends and for surveillance as claimed by some concerned citizens and other groups.
He says that once procured, MACRA is set to generate at least K13.5 Billion by the end of March 2025.
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