Zambia’s Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Mutati, has called on African countries to embrace Malawi’s ‘Data Must Fall Mantra’ to lower data costs and improve data accessibility across the continent.
- Mutati made the appeal during the signing of a Diplomatic Data Corridor Agreement and a Government-to-Government Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Malawi and Zambia.
- The high cost of internet data is identified as a barrier to development in African countries, hindering progress and connectivity.
- The Data Must Fall campaign, initiated in Malawi in 2020, aims to make internet data more affordable and accessible to the majority of the population through the implementation of policies that protect affordable data bundles.
- Reducing data costs is seen as a way to unlock opportunities and possibilities, particularly for the youth who aspire to utilize the internet for entrepreneurship and connectivity. Factors contributing to high data costs in Africa include infrastructure limitations and high taxation.