Malawi: Government stops issuance of two mobile licences
One licence was offered to Lacell of Singapore while the other one was given to Expresso Telecommunications Group from Dubai.
The country's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has since instituted an investigation into how MACRA made this mistake.
Former Information and Civic Education Minister Patricia Kaliati is said to be at the centre of the probe as she is alleged to have ordered MACRA to award what would have been the fourth mobile phone licence to Expresso when it was Lacell that was picked.
Instead of leaving out either of the two, MACRA is said to have picked up both signalling that Malawi will have five mobile phone operators, something which was pointed out by a local weekly, prompting the ACB to start investigating the matter.
ACB is expected to probe the two companies as well as MACRA board chair Thengo Maloya who has already told the bureau that Kaliati approved the awarding of both licences to the companies.
About Gregory Gondwe
Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist who started writing in 1993. He is also a media consultant assisting several international journalists pursuing assignments in Malawi. He holds a Diploma and an Intermediate Certificate in Journalism among other media-related certificates. He can be contacted on moc.liamg@ewdnogyrogerg. Follow him on Twitter at @Kalipochi.
