Matindi demands Times Radio back over breach of business agreement

Matindi Media Group has written the Malawi Communications Regurations Authority (Macra), withdrawing the selling of Times Radio, formerly Matindi FM to Times Media Group.

In series of emails Nyasa Times has seen, the whole drama is hinging on the breach of business agreement on the part Times Media Group.

Matindi Broadcasting Station Limited asserts and broadcasting license were sold to Times Radio in June 2015.

The contract was executed and all assets changed hands save for the license that Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) changed from Matindi Broadcasting Station Limited to Times Radio on 17 February 2017.

Clause 7.4 of the agreement reads “on completion the sum of K15,000,000.00 of the consideration shall be left owing to by the Buyer (Times Radio) to the seller (Matindi FM) and shall become payable upon amendment of the operating license to indicate the Buyer as the new Licensee with an option to the seller to use the sum for future investment in Times

Since the radio license is regurated by your organization, we are demanding our license back in our name due to the breach of contract by Times Radio Limited. We also demand our assets back. We do not need the MK15m anymore. We needed the money on 2nd February 2017 because the sale agreement made it payable on the day the license was changed.

And in an email to Times Media Group Managing Director Leornard Chikadya, Nserebo wrote: “It is with regret to notify you that we at Matindi Group hereby withdraw from the sale agreement and would like to have the radio assets back”

Nserebo further penned “we feel Times Group has no interest to meet its obligation as agreed as agreed in contract.”

According to him, sale agreement was done by Times Media Group’s lawyer Innocent Kalua and this should be easy to interpret.

Both Macra and Times Group were not available for their side of the matter.

Times Media Group, publishers of Malawi News, The Daily Times and The Sunday Times and owners of Times Television and Times Courier, is yorked huge debts accumulated at Fattan Printers where Times Group prints its newspapers when their machine is not working, banks and several other creditors. Experts have concluded that this status is likely to lead to bankrupcy.

They also owe Malawi Revenue Authority billions in unpaid taxes.

The dead printing machine the company procured provoked suspicion considering it took a whole Managing Director, instead of technical people, to travel to Italy to buy the machine.

Chikapa also goofed and complicated the financial situation of the company when he bought an outside-broadcasting van, an empty shell that had no studio in it, on the miscalculation that Super League of Malawi (SULOM) was going to award Times a contract of beaming live super league football matches.

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