The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), in its capacity as the designated Data Protection Authority (DPA), conducted a four-day Capacity Building Programme on Data Protection Training of Trainers in Lilongwe aimed at strengthening Malawi’s capacity to implement and enforce the Data Protection Act, 2024.
Speaking during the opening of the programme, Head of Data Protection at MACRA, Counsel Daniel Chiwoni, said legislation alone could not adequately protect people’s privacy, stressing that effective implementation of the Act required competent professionals, appropriate systems and a culture that respected privacy.
“Data protection is ultimately about people,” Chiwoni said, highlighting the growing importance of data to innovation, digital financial services, healthcare, education, research, artificial intelligence and Malawi’s digital economy.
The training equipped data protection practitioners with practical skills in compliance, complaints handling, investigations, audits, evidence assessment and enforcement.
During the programme, University of Malawi Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies, Jimmy Kainja, called for a practical approach to data protection training. He urged trainers to consider participants’ perceptions and experiences and emphasised the importance of feedback in determining whether training messages were understood.
“We must also use problem solving interventions and feedback. Feedback is very important because it helps in knowing whether what you are delivering is actually making sense to people or not,” he said.
Closing the workshop, MACRA’s Head of Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), Christopher Banda, urged participants to translate the knowledge gained into practical action within their institutions.
“As you leave this workshop, I urge you to take the lessons seriously and apply them with commitment. Let the knowledge gained here inform policies, procedures, awareness sessions, staff training and everyday decision making within your institutions,” Banda said.
He said institutions that understood data protection were better placed to build public confidence, reduce risk, improve internal governance and deliver services responsibly, particularly as Malawi continued moving towards a more digital economy.
The programme was supported by the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and MACRA, in collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD, GIZ, the European Union and CIPESA. Germany and the European Union also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Malawi’s digital transformation and strengthening responsible data governance.
