Slow steps in digital transformation

By Isaac Salima:

The world has gone digital. That is the commonly used phrase to depict how nations have embraced digitalisation.

Malawi has made some strides, too, in that regard.

But there are prevailing gaps that require swift attention for Malawi to fully embrace digitalisation in this fast-changing world.

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In 2017, Malawians were all smiles when the authorities introduced national identity (ID) cards.

The cards are, among other things, meant to ease other transactions that require one’s identification.

But through spot-checks, we found that people are not done yet with the tiresome paperwork in some transactions.

We found that people who are seeking various services are still being bothered to provide the data that the national ID already recorded.

Imagine the hectic process one has to follow when opening a bank account!

Banks would still irritatingly inquire about your home village, date of birth and everything captured during the ID registration process.

Blantyre resident David Mkandawire says it is frustrating that some service providers do not want to fully embrace digital initiatives.

“Most services still require paperwork. It seems like service providers are not yet ready to embrace the digital world. For instance, when opening a bank account, you still have to bring other utility bills when one has a national ID that can be used to access such information,” Mkandawire says.

Another resident of the commercial city, Collins Matuta, said most people have reservations on online transactions.

“When you make a wrong transaction, it is not easy to reverse the transaction. As such, the unreliability of such services puts off some people,” he says.

The slugging pace at which stakeholders are embracing digitalisation is even more clear when one seeks government services.

Ministries, departments and agencies seem not to speak to each other. So, one really has to sweat gallons before getting the sought-after information.

Imagine that at the Ministry of Local Government, you will give all your information and when you seek assistance from a District Commissioner’s office or any other ministry, you have to provide the information again.

In an ideal situation, having registered with the National Registration Bureau (NRB), a simple click of the button would have been enough to have all the information in milliseconds.

Digital Malawi Project Manager, Chimwemwe Matemba, says they are trying to integrate government systems to rescue Malawians from the hassle of hunting for information.

“There is an international best practice on how these systems are arranged for government. One of the key aspects is to put the systems in one place so that we have common standards. We are rolling out a data centre in Lilongwe which will house all government systems. We will also have a digital services portal where people can log in and get government services. The other one is a mobile gateway where government services can be sought via smart-phones,” Matemba said.

But all is not lost as the country has lately registered some progress in the technology arena, such that online transactions are becoming a darling of people. These include bill payment and other transactions.

Nowadays, one does not have to panic after running out of airtime as transactions such as utility bill payment, sending and receiving money, among others, can be done in the comfort of your home.

Still more, the absorption of digital products and their benefits remains slow and low.

People still flock to banking halls to make transactions.

These are the same transactions that should have, otherwise, been available at the fingertips.

So, you will see find long queues as people seek to pay bills for water, electricity and other utility services.

Why is this the case?

Our findings show that most Malawians are afraid of transacting online due to perceived unreliability of the services.

For instance, Margaret Mwalinga from Lilongwe frowns at the lengthy time it takes to reverse a transaction that has gone wrong.

“Sometimes you find that some service providers still prefer hard cash when such transactions can be done using Visa Card. Unavailability of such services forces people to always move with cash. And network problems are a challenge, such that when you make a transaction, it does not give you a message and, as such, you are not sure if the transaction is successful or not,” she said.

However, the Bankers Association of Malawi believes the country’s banks have made significant investments in digital platforms.

But why are the banks still bothering customers with more paperwork? Zandile Shaba is the association’s president.

“The National ID is the accepted document for customer identification purposes. Utilising the ID, banks can indeed collect customer identification details. However, due to data security and privacy concerns, banks can only access limited information from the card after swiping. Currently, when banks swipe the card, they can confirm its validity and whether the details on the card are correct.

“However, they do not receive additional information that the prospective customer provided to the NRB during the card application process. Consequently, banks often rely on customers to provide this information separately,” Shaba said.

Fraudsters and scammers have also turned the digital world into a playground for stealing from unsuspecting Malawians.

Each day, the fraudsters try their tricks on digital platform users, forcing some people to withdraw from online transactions.

“Fraudsters are doing more harm than good to the digital transformation drive as more people continue to have reservations over online transactions because one feels unsafe to do things such as online payment and the like,” Misheck Mjuwa from Mangochi said.

In 2022, Director General of the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority Daud Suleman indicated that the country was losing at least K120 million monthly due to mobile money fraud.

ICT Association of Malawi President Clarence Gama agrees that the country is not yet there, in terms of technology use.

He thinks that the national ID is being underutilised mainly due to lack of ICT infrastructure.

“There is a need for a national conversation on digitalisation and we would also like to see increased uptake of services.

“But, in terms of embracing such services, we are moving in the right direction but we could move at a faster pace than we are. The main issue is raising the necessary awareness, which is key to improving the pace of adoption,” he says.

Latest data on digital access in Malawi indicate that there are about five million internet users in the country.

It says that internet penetration is at 24.4 percent.

This means that about 76 people out of every 100 remain offline.

These are people that continue accessing services physically.

Despite some progress made in ensuring that people are online, it is up to authorities to address the gaps so that the country can move with the changing times in embracing digital technologies.