| Organisation | Malawi Broadcasting Corporation |
| Alternate Name | |
| Abbreviation | MBC |
| Parent | Ministry of Information & Civic Education |
| u.r.l. | |
| Country | Malawi |
| Location | Blantyre |
| Address | Chichiri , , Blantyre |
| Postal Address | PO Box 30133 |
| Telephone | |
| Management u.r.l. | |
| Fax | |
| Sector | Culture - General |
| Organisation Type | |
| Status | |
| Stated Role | |
| Activities | |
| Geographical Focus | |
| Notes | Minister of Information Patricia Kaliati Thursday accused Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) staff of corruption and stealing from the organisation, a situation she said worsens the institution’s financial woes. Kaliati, who brands herself as a very open and frank person, said this during a meeting she had with MBC management to discuss the institution’s problems. But MBC management said it is aware of some of the accusations and that corrective measures are being undertaken. All was well at the beginning of the meeting—which was also attended by journalists from other media organisations—as the minister asked the managers to open up and highlight problems the institution is facing. MBC Director General Owen Maunde said the biggest problem facing institution is funding which he said has been limited since the inception of Radio 2 in 1997. “Radio 2 has not been funded since 1997. It only got K100,000 when it was being opened. As such, we can say MBC is being under-funded. The money we get from Treasury is not also enough for operations, in addition to the money from our...revenues,” said Maunde. He said other problems include lack of good equipment and transport. MBC Financial Controller Allan Nyahoda added the other problem is that of financial arrears which government said would pay but it has not done so to-date. “Since 1997, MBC has accumulated K378 million in arrears and Treasury only paid part of the electricity bills then stopped. So, the arrears are still affecting us,” said Nyahoda. But when Kaliati took the floor, she had no kind words for the MBC management. “These problems come because of you people. You are pocketing the money meant for the institution. An advertiser gives you K5 million, you pocket K3 million [and] cheques are being written in your names instead of the company’s. “I have the information. I can even produce account numbers of your officials where the money is going,” said Kaliati. “Procurement figures are inflated here: a bale of tissue which costs K1,500 is valued at K5,000; a radio which could cost K40,000 is put at K80,000. I have the list and I can fax it to you,” she said. “Corruption here is everywhere, even among the DJs. This is too much, musiye kusolola (stop stealing), then we can trust you.” The minister said even MBC’s auditors cannot be trusted because they only do a good job at the beginning but after a while, they became part and parcel of the “thieves”. “I know everything because it is the people you deal with and the friends you open up to who give me the information. “It’s unfortunate that I am a teacher by profession. Had it been I was a police officer, I could have been the Inspector General because no information passes by me,” said Kaliati. The minister advised MBC to be creative and start making project proposals to generate more income instead of just waiting for government funding. When asked to make closing remarks, Maunde, while thanking Kaliati for visiting them, asked the minister to give them the list of procured items with inflated figures. And when asked if management was aware of the issues raised by the minister, Maunde said after the meeting: “As I listened carefully to the minister, I think it was an issue regarding our procurement officer who has since been suspended pending investigations on some procurement issues. “You know, we have an internal procurement committee which scrutinises things to be procured and an internal auditor who scrutinises financial transactions.” “Appropriate action is taken when someone is found at fault. As management, we are not just sitting; we are trying to make sure that this stops,” he said. Early last year, MBC suspended 12 of its employees from the business departments in Lilongwe and Blantyre following an alleged K17 million fraud. [ 18 Aug 2006 - www.nationmalawi.com ] MBC not worried with slashed funding The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) says it will survive on its reduced budget until it gets parliamentary approval for the second half and Television Malawi (TVM) says it has not yet seen the figures. Parliament last week approved only half of the funding for MBC and TVM, accusing the two state broadcasters of bias towards government and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The House said the rest of the funding for the two institutions will be approved only if they improve their coverage. MBC Director-General Owen Maunde said Monday the development will not affect its operations, while his TVM counterpart Rodrick Mulonya could not comment on the immediate effects of the decision. Maunde said MBC will not feel the pinch as the 50 percent the institution will get will suffice in the interim as it awaits approval of the other tranche. Mulonya said he had not yet seen TVM’s full allocation for him to competently assess the effects on the development. National Media Institute for Southern Africa (Namisa) Director Innocent Chitosi expressed concern over the resolution, saying it is not the best way to solve the problem. “If the MPs had problems with MBC and TVM, they should have let the two have their full and adequate allocation with conditions and let them hang themselves if they fail to comply with the requirement,” said Chitosi, wondering what criteria the Parliamentary Media Committee will use to assess the public broadcasters’ conduct. On whether MBC and TVM are biased, Chitosi said the issue is subjective for both opposition and government. “It is very subjective because I remember even the Minister of Information [Patricia Kaliati] lamented some time back that the reporters were editing some important information deliberately,” said Chitosi. “But the accusations should work as a wake-up call for TVM and MBC to improve and adhere to ethics.” Parliament’s ruling on TVM and MBC funding followed a motion moved by Zomba Changalume MP John Chikalimba who suggested that allocations to the two public broadcasters be released in two phases of 50 percent each, with the second one being subject to balanced and fair coverage by the two institutions. As opposition MPs unanimously supported the motion, government side strongly objected, insisting that TVM and MBC had opened up to all political parties and that there is no need to carry the motion. Minister of Lands Henry Phoya asked that the House should not discuss the motion because it was not discussed at Parliamentary Business Committee and that it was illegal to seek an amendment of an allocation when the appropriation budget, which contains vote by vote, had already been gazetted. Information and Tourism Minister Patricia Kaliati also said it was not necessary to discuss the motion because TVM and MBC’s coverage of political parties was balanced. “What is it that you want because the broadcasters in question are already being fair. At least opposition political parties are being given chance to air their issues on MBC and TVM, a thing which was not possible even by a dot in the past,” said Kaliati. “What you should be asking for is more funding for them to improve on their operations.” But opposition leader John Tembo argued it was not true that TVM and MBC were fair in their coverage of opposition functions, saying he had evidence to substantiate that. “I remember some day TVM covered our function, but did not broadcast it because of instructions from above and they had to refund us the money after failing to air it,” claimed Tembo. The issue created disorder in the House and the government side walked out. An electricity blackout also contributed to the pandemonium. [ 19 Jul 2006 ] |
| Current Positions | |||
| Position | Name | From | To |
| Director General | Owen Maunde | 2005 | |
| Director of Programmes | Brighton Matawere | 2005 | |
| Budgets | ||||
| Donor | From | To | Budget ($) | Note |
| Links to Related Organisations |
| Parent Tree | Ministry of Information & Civic Education |
| Government of Malawi |
| Subsidiary Organisations |
| Associated Organisations |
| Donor Recipients |
| Past Positions | |||
| Position | Name | From | To |
| Record last updated on 19 JUL 2006 |