Government hails TNM on ICT advancement

By Nathan Majawa, Contributor:

Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Henry Mussa, has hailed integrated mobile and ICT service provider, TNM Plc, for contributing to the socio-economic development of the country through the use of the internet.

Speaking after touring TNM headquarters in Blantyre, Mussa said the firm is also making significant contributions through its corporate social responsibility activities in health, education and other vulnerable sectors.

“We came here to appreciate what TNM is doing in as far as their role in offering services through the internet is concerned.

“Here we discovered that their purpose is more into connecting people and also to educate and transmit information which works very well with the ministry’s mandate,” Mussa said.

He said, during the meeting, TNM and officials from the ministry discussed a number of issues, including extension of network coverage, high cost of internet data and issues of infrastructure development in the sector.

“We wanted to hear, about other challenges they face,” he said.

TNM acting Chief Executive Officer, Eric Valentine, described Mussa’s visit as significant.

“It [the visit] is very significant. I think it is a very good aspect and a good initiative for us to address issues of common interest, not just for us as TNM but for the industry as a whole and for Malawi.

“We hope that this is just an initial engagement and that we will take this further to make a difference in terms of working together with the ministry,” Valentine said.

On internet affordability, Valentine said there is a need for collaboration between the service providers and government to have digital economy that can host content and application in the country.