MBC in over K400 million debt
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is casting its hope on the yet to be debated national budget to save its face from the huge accumulated debt amounting to over K400 million.
MBC has been operating without government subvention for almost seven years after opposition-dominated Parliament in 2007 cut funding to the public broadcaster over claims that it was used by government as a propaganda.
Parliament has been allocating only K1 each for MBC, which is nominal, to satisfy the law that make it illegal to provide no allocation at all without holding a vote.
MBC Director General, Benson Tembo told MBCtv that the institution was failing to develop and adopt modern standards of broadcasting due to financial constraints.
“The transmission equipment is obsolete; the vehicles which use to get to other parts of the country are obsolete. Since have been allocated K1, it has been difficult to operate with our debt currently over K400
million,” said Tembo.
Tembo said the change in MBC’s financial allocation in this year’s budget would ease the burden the institution face in its daily operations.
MBC has been operating on funds generated from adverts and other commercial programmes. Parliament is yet to start deliberating in the K700 billion zero-aid budget.
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