The Malawi Government through the Ministry of Information and Digitalization (MoID) has urged all civil servants in the country to transition from using personal email accounts to the new official government email system.
Secretary for Information and Digitalization, Baldwin Chiyamwaka, made the call on Friday in Blantyre during a press conference that his Ministry through the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) organized to provide updates on the significant progress made under the Digital Malawi Project (DIGMAP).
The Ministry developed the new government email system under the current first phase of DIGMAP, the Digital Malawi Program Phase 1: Digital Foundations Project, with funding from the World Bank
Chiyamwaka emphasized the importance of this transition, highlighting concerns over the security risks associated with the use of personal emails for official communication.
“The use of personal emails for government business compromises the safety of government information and data. We urge all civil servants to adopt this new technology and migrate to the government email system to ensure the security of our data and information,” he said.
On the significant progress of DIGMAP, Chiyamwaka highlighted that the project has extended reliable internet connectivity services through the high-speed optic fiber to over 500 Public institutions covering all sectors including hospitals and schools nationwide.
He added that the Government through the project is constructing a new national data center facility in Lilongwe to provide, among others, essential digital infrastructure and services, particularly for data storage and management.
PPPC Project Manager for DIGMAP, Chimwemwe Matemba disclosed that the successes of the first phase of DIGMAP have led the World Bank to approve funding for the upcoming second phase, known as the Digital Malawi Acceleration Project (DMAP).
He said that the second project will continue building on the accomplished milestones of the first phase of DIGMAP.
Matemba elaborated: “The second phase will build on the milestones achieved in the first phase, ensuring that these accomplishments are fully supported and sustained.”
