Communications lecturer at the Chancellor College Jimmy Kainja says Malawi is lagging behind on effective internet usage as compared to neighbouring countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Kainja made the assertion amid growing concerns to have data tariffs reduced to accommodate more citizens to use the internet.

He told YFM that despite the calls and government showing some political will towards change, the country still has a lot to do so that more of its citizens use the internet.

Kainja said among the reasons why the nation is doing poorly is that not a lot of people are aware of the internet.

He said: “Data from the National Statics Office study on internet usage in Malawi shows that not many people are aware of the internet’s existence.”

Apart from this he has also pointed out that a good number of people do not know how to use the internet since access to gadgets to access the internet are scarce.