Malawians have to wait a little bit longer to start reaping the benefits of the Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management system (CIRMS) as the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) is yet to implement the system two months after the Supreme Court gave them a go ahead.

CIRMS, a system with interlinked components to facilitate efficient regulation of the telecoms sector sparked controversy after it was dubbed ‘spy machine’ prompting two concerned consumers, Hophmally Makande and Eric Sabwera to drag Macra to court in order for the system not to be installed.

The High Court ruled in favour of the two but after Macra appealed the decision, the Supreme Court, in September this year, overturned the decision of the High Court and mandated Macra to proceed with the implementation. But since then, the regulatory body is yet to implement the system.

Clara Mulonya, Communications Officer for Macra could not specify the exact time for the implementation of the system but said “it won’t be long before it does so.”

“We have outstanding issues to sort out and these include: finalisation of the link connections to all operators, upgrading of the software since it has been idle from installation, interfacing of the system for probe handshakes, recruitment and training of additional staff in the standards and technology department, and testing and final commissioning,” she said.

MACRA procured the CIRMS at a cost of USD6.8 million from Agilis International in 2010 for purposes of fulfilling its statutory monitoring mandate in respect to quality of service (QoS), revenue assurance, fraud and spectrum management.
Of particular importance, many Malawians are hoping the CIRMS, if successfully installed, will help improve the quality of service from phone operators as well as help slice off phone tariffs that are believed to be high as compared to other countries. But whether that will be so, remains to be seen.