The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) conducted regional public relations workshop for the Malawi Police Service (MPS) Public Relation Officers (PRO) under the theme “Policing in the Digital Era”.
speaking at the opening ceremony for the regional workshops which took place in Blantyre at Mt. Soche MACRA DG Daud Suleman emphasized the need for a safe digital space if the country is to utilize the cyber space for the growth of the digital economy.
“We are moving into the digital space for most of our transactions, as a country we move high volumes of money via mobile money transactions, on the other side we have also seen high levels of mobile fraud cases. As a regulator of ICT services our aim is to ensure a safe digital space for all. We hope that such initiatives as this workshop will go a long way in building capacity for our police force and equip them with the right tools to deal with digital and cyber-crimes” he said.
In her remarks the Inspector General of MPS Merlyne Yolamu acknowledged the ever changing environment in which they operate in which requires constant upgrading of skills and knowledge.
“We believe that the skills and knowledge that our PRO functionality will acquire at this workshop will aid in the effective discharge of our duties and enforcement of our mandate in this digital age” she said.
The MACRA board chairperson Dr. Stanley Khaila who was the guest of honor urged the PROs to be proactive in disseminating information to the media.
“PR is the voice of an institution, if the Institution doesn’t speak then the media will highlight the negatives and not the positives” he said.
The workshop was facilitated by the Public Relations Society of Malawi (PRSM) and tackled integral PR issues including how to provide effective communication in the digital era, Public Relations and media ethics, community relations, and media management.
On the other hand MACRA presented on some of its initiatives which are the National Addressing System (NAS), cyber security in Malawi and the establishment of the mwCERT and the Universal Service Fund, the Authority briefed the gathering on Regulation in the broadcasting industry.