that more effort had been made in the capital city, Harare. Greater emphasis was also placed on the need to ensure, confidence, safety and freedom of business interaction and consumer rights on the internet without fear of backlash. Malawi Election Information Center representative and chief executive officer of MHub, Rachel Sibande, shared experiences on the country’s internet governance experiences demonstrating progress in the advancement of internet as a resource aided by mobile technology. Malawi set up an Internet Governance Forum in 2014, established an Internet Exchange point to peer and exchange all local traffic. It also has facilities that encourage online innovation access and exploration by women and children. In her presentation she emphasised the need for regulation that promotes and monitors healthy competition and the need for established businesses to be accommodative of start-ups. There was also need to invest in innovation. The discussion also stirred conversations around emerging monopolies in the sector. Participants called for policies that facilitate the provision of affordable access to the internet by the citizenry without creating monopoly in the sector, but rather more players and healthier competition. She also shared Malawi’s experiences as a beneficiary of internet.org, through partnerships with six telecommunications companies, Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia and Qualcomm. She noted that although bringing affordable access to selected internet services to less developed countries by increasing efficiency and facilitating the development of new business, the partnership has been criticised for violating net neutrality. She noted that the Malawi IGF has a lot of work to do as some of the challenges facing the country are similar to those in Zimbabwe.These include limited ICT infrastructure due to high investment costs; prohibitive taxation of service providers, high mobile access tariffs and power shortages. She further noted that the country has an outdated ICT law and that both the Electronic Transaction and Electronic Bill (e-Transactions Bill) and access to information bill, are yet to be tabled in parliament. However, there are concerns that both (bills),may infringe on freedom of expression rights and limit access to information. Other focus areas around internet governance in Malawi include, a cyber safety and security framework and the increase in the participation of the youth on the internet. Media and human rights lawyer, Otto Saki’s presentation on laws that impact on internet use in Zimbabwe outlined existing statutes that regulate the internet in Zimbabwe as they apply to citizens, government, and the private sector. Outlined were the Interception of Communications Act, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Censorship and Entertainment Controls Act, Copyright Right and Neighboring Rights Act, Consumer Contracts Act, Competition Act, Criminal Matters (Mutual Assistance) Act. He noted that most of the laws, like most media laws in the country, needed to be amended and realigned with the new constitution of Zimbabwe. He also emphasised the need for authorities and civil society to raise awareness on the existing laws and citizenry participation in the formulation of a democratic internet governance framework. Zambia’s Simunza Muyangana of technology and innovation hub, Bongohive, noted that in terms of internet penetration, Zambia is still lagging behind, with an approximated internet penetration rate of 30 percent, despite having established a dial-up connectivity ahead of Zimbabwe around 1992/3. The conference heard that connectivity has been slow in Zambia, mainly because of the costs associated with it. This could be addressed through the availability of cheaper devices, fiber connectivity, and growth in mobile technology. This has seen the growth and promotion of local content generation. Muyangana said while internet.org launched its partnerships in Zambia, as is the case with Malawi, it is also grappling with backlashes for going against the principle of net neutrality. Recommendations from the session included the need to establish the status of the Information Communication Technology Bill that was drafted during the inclusive government (2009-2013); follow up on the Cyber Crimes Bill and/or possibly advocate for the amendment of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform Act) to include internet related violations and crimes. The session also called for the involvement of stakeholders in the processes of developing the Personal and Privacy Data/Personal Data Protection Bill, Consumer Protection Bill, Electronic Commerce Bill, as well as revision of the National ICT Policy. In the session that focused on a regional overview of internet democracy, Emilar Vushe- Gandhi of the Association of Progressive Communications (APC), emphasised the need for stakeholders to fully understand the various components of the internet and benefits derived from it from a human rights perspective. She noted the various levels at which threats and human rights violations occur in the use of the internet starting from hardware level, the code or communication protocol level, at the level of applications use and at the level where content is produced, shared and accessed. She also highlighted and identified common restrictions brought about by the governments in the region through surveillance and cited abuse of the internet by civilians to inflame tribal conflicts, as impediments to the democratic use of the internet. Muyangana also emphasised the need to recognise the business value in any online initiatives and that not only the social value of the initiatives is integral to development, but sustainability of the services as well. He cited HIVOS’ extension of aid to content developers in the country as of immense value. He said there is need to raise awareness for the individual African online user on responsible online use and the observance of business ethics by online entrepreneurs in their bid to remain afloat and attract advertising revenue. He also noted the need to look into issues of censorship and domain control by the authorities. Muyangana recommended that open dialogue and multi-stakeholder fora should be core in internet governance activities across the region. HIVOS Southern Africa’s Freedom of Expression programme development manager, Tambudzai Madzimure, outlined the experience of supporting internet governance and policies in the Middle East and North Africa. She noted that HIVOS’ support for internet governance in Africa is premised on the understanding that citizens have a role to play in governance. Its initial support was in response to a quest for the citizenry to enjoy greater freedom of expression. In their resolutions delegates stressed the need for a democratic regulation that is cognisant of principles regulating the internet; access and affordability for all citizens, promotion of government public accountability through the internet, promotion and development of local content and protection of intellectual property through copyright laws. This quest also embraced other players including bloggers, journalists, students, public sector employees and the private sector. This support included activities to increase knowledge on the need for democratic governance, legislation and policies regulating use of the internet. HIVOS noted the need for more coordinated approaches to internet governance in the SADC region and the drawing of experiences from other regions. INTERNET GOVERNANCE MULTISTAKEHOLDER CONFERENCE REPORT 2015 They also called for decriminalisation of freedom of expression; a clear cyber-security law, curbing of corporate monopolies and censorship and promotion of internet-based entrepreneurship. Also critical is advocacy and public awareness and clearly coordinated efforts as well as regional solidarity in the governance and regulation of internet use in Zimbabwe. 007 www.misazim.com @misazimbabwe MISA Zimbabwe