NRB refuses opposition MCP to audit Malawi ID data
National Registration Bureau has ruled out allowing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) experts into the pollster voter register data base, saying the opposition has the data already.
MCP politicians say they fear the data base has been manipulated to add more voters who would vote for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party DPP) presidential candidate President Peter Mutharika.
Muhabi Chisi, MEC IT expert told a news conference Tuesday in Lilongwe that its voter rolls dat is open for inspection and that the main opposition, the MCP and UTM have the data already following a court order.
“The main opposition parties have this data already in their possession following the Constitutional Court order, so there is no need to give them similar data,” he said.
But the director general of the National Registration Bureau (NRB) Macford Somanje said it would be unlawful to allow a private entity get into its data base as demanded by the MCP as that will contravene Section 44 of the National Registration Act (2010).
“We are a government entity. It is only the National Audit Office or a company certified by the National Audit Office (NAO) which can conduct audit into our data base,” he said.
He said the NAO has already certified a private company which will do the auditing exercise on the same soon.
“NRB is a government entity and all government institutions are not audited by a non authorised private firm or person,” Somanje said.
He said the procedure for government department audit is that the NAO conducts an audit on systems as well as processes and procedures for NRB.
“When that is done, they are supposed to submit the report to the Public Accounts Committee (of Parliament) and it is the duty of the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise the recommendations done by the audit office,” he added.
He further stressed that to let MCP do an audit of a national register is “not acceptable.” Somaje said he was of the view that the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Association of Malawi has made a recommendation through a press statement that the NRB data must be audited by a private firm.
“Our response is that the Data Protection Act does not allow private individuals to look into the national register, hence we will not allow our laws to be broken.
“The only people that can access the data are the ones that have been mandated by the law, as such NRB will make sure that they do not allow the data to be available to people who are not mandated,” he said.
Somanje said NRB registers people of 16 years old and above for issuance of National ID whilst MEC registers 18 years old and above for voting purposes.
“Therefore the two separate databases cannot have the same number of records,” Somanje said in tensed tone.
He warned that unauthorised disclosure or exposure of personal details of registrants in the National ID Database contravenes both the National Registration Act (2010) as well as the E-transactions and Cyber Security Act (2016).
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something is not right. the oposition want to be everything . they have already assumed that they have the presidency at hand but what to do with it they have no idea, they are auditors and judges , thugs name it . somebody will be in for a shock. but this time round the ntambos will be zambia and the white one in mozambique
Interesting. Maybe this the reason Botoman is pussyfooting on Access To Information Law
Allow them to check,we want transparent election.mukukana why?
Osaopsezanapo apa
Kaphale amalandila kuwila malipilo siconco.
violating our rights to using our taxes unawfully
mec paid the south african lawyers large amount of money for a job not done.
same thing violating our rights.
I was just laughing when Muhab Chisi was lecturing innocent journalists who do not even know how a database system works. Of course, he tutored them but if ICT/Information Systems were present, I hope Muhab Chisi could have sweated parafin.
1. He said that MEC database accepts duplicates. Does not this compromise data integrity. Why all this redudancy if the database is nomalised.
2. He also said that one cannot vote twice becuase MEC data only recognise the fisrt voter registrant not the duplicates. So when I have superior privelages to access the MEC database can I fail to change those duplicates to become voters? Muhab Chisi you were talking to journalists who some of them donot know terms like database query languanges, entity relationship diagram,database nomalisation, database relational calculus and agebra, etc. Therefore, it was not surprising that no journalist tried to fire any technical question to Muhab Chisi. Those who are not IT/Information Systems experts may think Muhab Chisi answered all the questions to Malawians. If Mr Chisi is confident enough, let him organise another press briefing for IT/Information Systems Experts and see if he will not be nyekwelised.
Very soon , the NRB and MEC registers will be audited as indicated by Suleman. This just show that NRB and MEC are coniving to steal votes by duplicating names. Why keeping data that is rubbish. Why not deleting it. Fortunately, you are not the ones to preside over the forth coming election.That’s why the courts said that you are incompetent and you don’t want to change. kkkkkkkkkkk
It is inept to say that you cannot give MCP a copy of the registered voters because they have a previous copy. That cant be a reason. The record in their possession is a previous one but for the sake of transparency they need to have a new printout that should match with the old record. Last time you refused to provide the original tally sheets, here you go again refusing to share the current record of the total registered voters. MCP being the stakeholder of the upcoming election has the right to ask for this record. The media houses should also demand for this information.
Cadets!!!!
I can once agree with NRB, MCP is not supposed to show details of people who are in the system. Our personal information must be protected and not abused. Sulamani must know this. Let’s respect people’s privacy and sort out your issues using proper way.
Our Human right had already been violated from the orders of Jean and pitala in the using of TIPPEX.
dont you think this is enough to teach nrb and mec????????
we did what was right and from pre preaching on how we should vote by jean then we got a stab at our backs all bcoz them want to continue with the CORRUPTION.
NRB THE DATA WILL BE OUT AND AUDITED SOON. AND THAT WILL PUT MALAWIANS OF GOOD WILL AT PEACE.
SOMANJEEEEE
Which privacy you taking about? Just your name and surname age and village, and for your own personal thinking how many people does see your I’d when you are dealing with some other evidence of you and very important? Mmm let’s be honest and serious kkkkk privacy registration form data😂😄😂😂 politics
I need to sue Sulemani how he got my private data from NRB. These thugs want to target us.
Kagalu or chigalu whateva name u call yourself analysing yako wapanga mopusa heavy wamva. Wht r u 4getting is that each n very game hv got its own rules 2 b followed by the called d players. Mu mpira mull offside but is d same ground of the same players. Munthu amalipira kukaonera mpira team yako ikachinya ukasangalala udyo ndikukalowa mu ground achitetezo akugwira. Myb u dnt knw galu iwe when d rules r formed it is made 4 d citizens 2 b followed. Iwe ukakhutha mgaiwa basi ufuna kupita ku NRB kukachita zomwe ukufuna in d name nzika iwe mbuzi kwambiri. Ife kwathu sitimangokalowa kuchipinda cha mai ndi bambo ayi timayamba tagogoda kaye ngati sakunena kuti lowa ngati tizimva mawu mkatimo sitimalowa koma ndife ana awo members of d same family. Make sure kuti muwine kaye chisankho den muzidzapanga zomwe mukufunazo but as 4 now wait or pitani ku court idiot. Dnt take Malawi as a banana republic where everyone does anyhow d one pleases. Crying stupid babies agalu anyawu inu
Who does MCP think it is. Don’t give them that information. Amadalira corrupt judges
Thanks to the corrupt,inept, nepotistic imbecile judges, Mcp thinks it can make its own rules as it goes along. They act like a cry baby, they want this they want that. Change our logo, give us data. Uchindere
I just got surprised sometimes the way how people protect laws and misuse them at the same time.
(A) MCP and DPP are players.
(B) MEC is a referee.
(C) NRB is a ground.
(D) Voters are supporters.
I have put NRB in this matter as it represent the central and or Origin of the registration in the Country which knows who are the citizens and who are not the citizens.
Now it looks like the ground is not suitable for the too players to meet, because it is not accomodating the players and supporters included. In this way it is just good for referee only.
Now was it good for both players to first search and or see the ground first before the game commenced? In my view I think it would be good for both Players.
To DPP player,it would prove that the ground has not hidden anything against the opponent.
To MCP player, it would make them to go into the ground without having any problem that would create unnecessary doubts.
To MEC as referee, it would be good because, that’s when it would come to their rescue from anger that has grown in the midst of some Malawians including myself.
The referee and the ground in my own view in this matter (MEC and NRB) should know that, if indeed it is incorrect to allow MCP as an individual to have an audit into their database, is it not to take like MCP and or Opposition are not Malawians? Is it not to tell Malawians that we don’t have democracy in this Country? Is it not to tell Malawians that we are still in one Party system? Is it not to tell Malawians that the 1993-94 was just a change to have power so that the then Bakili Muluzi should lead to steal from Malawians as it was? Is it not telling Malawians that Muntharika is the weakest President we have in this country? Is it not telling Malawians that there some people who are called more Malawians than the others? Suppose it’s like that, is it not tribalism?,is it not regionalism? Is it not telling Malawians that the right to your right does not exist?
NRB must know that this Malawi and for Malawians. Why do we have unnecessary laws opposing the rights to participate?
NRB is a Government institution so as we.
MEC is another virus we have had in this Country, but the question is, in whose interests do you do this?
As I’m writing this comment, I can feel that something is not adding up. We had leaders, do we still have them, yes I mean the one you are thinking, where is he? Why? How? So why this one? Freedom is coming tomorrow!
Fire fire fire fire fire!
Do not show them anything. It is their fault that they are in opposition.
A Macford Macford Macford Macford. Mmmhhhh