MBC professionalism has gone to the dogs – MP Kawale
The chairperson of the Parliamentary Media and Communications Committee and a member of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Sam Kawale has said the tax-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) continue to be an instrument of castigation of the opposition without giving the opposition the right of reply.
“MBC professionalism has gone to the dogs in terms of media ethics,”Kawale said on Daybreak Malawi programme on Capital FM on Tuesday.
Kawale said the lack of editorial independence and opening up of MBC airwaves is against the spirit of Communications Act and the Constitution.
The Communications Act clearly spells out under Section 87 of the public mandate of MBC to operate without any bias or serve any political interests.
He also said MBC ignores the Constitution which categorically states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression and that the media has the right to publish freely which entails MBC to be neutral and serve public interests regardless of people’s political views
Kawale said MBC is falling short of this mandate and accused government of using traditional leaders to attack critics and opposition on MBC.
“People are realising that what they are doing is wrong,” he said.
But Minister of Information, Communication and ICT, Nicholous Dausi defended MBC, saying it is operating within its mandate.
“ In a democracy we move by constitutionality and constitutionalism, MBC is following its acts of parliament,” Dausi said.
“Malawians must sit down and say how best we should approach the issue of MBC,” he added.
However, Kawale said government should not be contented in using MBC for propaganda.
“The media is not MBC only. We have the social media. If they think they can still mislead people, they are lying themselves. Everything will start backfiring,” said Kawale.
He said public institutions such as MBC run on tax-payers’ money are supposed to serve everyone.
Kawale argued that public function role is very clear in Sections 86, 87 and 88 of the Communications Act.
He said monopoly of MBC by ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) implies that they do not respect the law.
Observers say MBC itself suffers from a crisis of professional standards as s successive MBC management teams, especially CEOs, have failed to provide effective leadership to guide the employees on how to behave professionally.
They CEOs have allowed propaganda programmes n to be aired to please those in power when there are far many important national issues that deserve airtime.
MBC stories are told without balance and objectivity in favour of government.
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) shares much of the blame for the unprofessional conduct of MBC because it has failed to stamp its authority over MBC to be professional.
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Phillip Business will not suffer Sibo, only God knows the future of his people. What you expect is not what God has planned for Phillip. you will remember my words. For your own information Phillip does not comment anything, what he does is to ask peoples views . Whether you like it or not Phillip will survive.
mbatama za ku malawi , nothing will change because of ignorance…
One person to suffer after DPP is Phillip Business.Chitsilu chamunthu ndithu.Nde amalimbana ndi akatolika pompano,watembeleledwa basi……Azafa infa yowawa
I EXPECT MACRA TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST MBC FOR BEING BIASED.
MACRA WAS QUICK
TO SUMMON ZODIAK OVER THE INTERVIEW KAMLEPO KALUA GAVE
ON ZODIAK. MACRA ON ITS OWN ACTED AS A COMPLANANT AND
SUMMONED ZODIAK OFFICIALS. WHY CANT THEY DO THE SAME
WITH MBC.
CHAKWERA HAS BEEN ATTACKED LEFT AND RIGHT BY DIFFERENT
PEOPLE USING MBC. BUT I NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO
HEAR WHAT CHAKWERA WAS BEING CRITICIZED FOR SINCE MBC COULD
NOT GIVE US HIS SIDE OF THE STORY TO WARRANT THE
OUTBURSTS FROM MBC COHORTS.
IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL PROFESSONALISM, YOU AT MBC?
IS THAT WHAT YOU LEARNT IN SCHOOL? SHAME ON YOU!!!
MCP started all this. For 31 years, we were fed with MCP propaganda.Telling us about development everywhere when everything was not moving at all . Look at how our towns were planned. They were planned without sewerage systems in townships leaving people using pit latrines. No town planning with houses just built anyhow. We did not have any street names and stand numbers with not tarred streets and no lights. No malls then and we were living in dire poverty and yet MBC continued to feed us with their MCP foolish propaganda.
Now you mustn’t cry when things are working against you when you are the ones responsible for Malawi’s rotten foundation. You wasted Billions of state funds on security pursuing all the people who fled the country, money that could have developed our country. And what does MCP want now after failing us for 31 years?
Ndirande newlines, nkolokosa, chitawira were all connected to sewege system main lines by the first Malawi government… What have you done since 1994 constructing illegal buildings where land was reserved for such developments by mbuzi ndi mwana wake mulinayo ku dpp..
MR GOGODASI, You must be very stupid indeed by failing to know that its not the responsibity of the opposition to control the conduct of MBC, You just dispray yourself how dull you are, Malawi constitution is there to followed by MBC in its operations not Opposition.
Opposition dziwani izi kutukwanizana kwanuko sikomwe timafuna kumamva. Timafuna kutsutsa mwanzeru popereka fundo zanzeru koma inu mukufuna pochukira. Kodi iweyo nthawi yaMCP kunalibe? fusa Kamlepo malemu Chihana ngati anatsutsapo Kamuzu MBC? Or just shut up
Kawale is a Malawian from opposition MCP and represents all Malawians including MBC as a state radio. I wonder why Dpp does not respect him and his opinionship over state affairs over MBC/Macra??? These two inatitutions are blanketted with political dirt of Dpp although have excellent recognizable intellect professionals and staffs.
Kawale is so stupid to cry over spilt milk. As a member of the opposition what is he and his colleagues doing to improve the conduct of MBC? The problem with the opposition is that they deliberately fail to correct situations so that when they are in power they do exactly what the government s doing with MBC. We will not sympathize with you until you fight to get things thing done correctly.
I respect your views boss as they contain sense. However , may you pose alittle bit on how the opposition can handle MBC and yet their powers are limited compared to the ruling. in Malawi the ruling is more powerful and control every effort by opposition. Mr Gogodasi I put politics aside and I guess you have done the same as we have the common philosophy as Malawians.
When government institutions are used like a condom this is what happens. In case you are not aware we have well educated journalists at MBC. We have well qualified CEO at MBC. We have well qualified board of Directors at MBC. But when money is all what matters educated people become fools, reducing themselves to a condom. Look at MACRA. I remember Zodiak was punished just because it aired views of Kamlepo Kalua. If MACRA was professional how many times would MBC fined because of airing views of some people without giving chance to those people to hear their side? But you find these well educated people at MACRA sitting phwiii yet deep down their heart they know that their conscious is being eaten. The same applies to ACB. That body has well qualified lawyers, and a bank as a Director but nothing tangible is coming from that office. Yet these are people who are being paid good sums of money for work not done. It is not the poor who are failing malawians but the rich, the educated ones and the evil politician.
If there is no difference between Government and the Ruling party, Malawi will remain to be a Banana Republic, The problem is having. Politicians in all Government institutions, Regional gorvenors are Board Members of the gorvenment institutions like MBCTV, One Man has got too much powers, that’s another problem, There is a disaster in the Constitution of Malawi, ACB is failed to do their job because of One Man, Njaunju and Chasowa cases nothing happened up to now, Because of one Man, 7 rotten Ministers are free just because of one Man, Malawi will continue to be a hell if President will continue to have too much powers, Why the President cannot be taken to court? Malawi its not a democratic country, a President is above the constitution, and that’s why he is using MBCTV to fight against the opposition, One Man is above the Constitution and that’s a president.