MRA seals Malawi media giant Times Group over K550m unpaid taxes
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Friday sealed Malawi’s oldest media house Times Group over alleged Value Added Tax arrears,totaling up to K550 million the company owes the tax body dating back to November 2016.
Armed police accompanied by MRA officials stormed the Jonhstone Road based newspaper, Radio and Television giant around mid day and sealed the premises.
Group Chief executive Leonard Chikadya refused to comment when contacted but sources within Times confirmed the seal and that Company Secretary Innocent Mnowanyama Kaluwa had dashed to the High Court to seek an injunction against the tax collecting body.
Times which has been in the forefront in the coverage of the current face off between President Peter Mutharika and vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima, feels the MRA action is a way of silencing the critical media house.
Staff at Times Group complained that the action comes before salaries for June were paid to juniors, yet top management led by Chikadya paid themselves their executive salaries by May 18.
” It is sad that this incident is happening when top management collected their pay cheques” said TV presenter who refused to be named.
MRAs decision comes as a shock to Chikadya who had been spared by the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (Macra) after he struck a deal with Director General Godfrey Itaye to throw under the carpet any negative stories including alleged corruption rampant at Macra.
Three platforms, print, radio and TV chose to burry their heads in the sand as the Anti Corruption Bureau pounced on Macra DG Itaye who secretly struck a deal with Chikadya who is close friend to Simon Itaye, an uncle to Godfrey Itaye.
“They struck a silent deal that as long as Godfrey Itaye is DG, Times TV and Radio licences would be renewed without any hussles in return for a total blackout on any corruption news story involving Macra and Itaye in particular. ”
Itayes Personal Assistant Ulanda Maluza said her boss was out to Lilongwe for meeting and demanded an emailed questionnaire on the allegations.
Last year MRA sealed Times Group on the same tax issue.
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Times ndi khalidwe lanu, you never pay taxes because all the money goes to fattening the pockets of bosses in your corporate office. How come Nation is also critical of government and their offices are never sealed? It’s because Nation pays it’s taxes. Just honor government taxes and you will be untouchable. You can’t claim watchdog status and yet you fail to lead by example and pay taxes. Chaka chilichonse witch-hunting izingosata inu? Muli ndi vuto ndinu. Please MRA continue witch hunting them. We Malawians are on your side. Time is gone when a media house put spins on stories… Read more »
Last sentence puts us in suspense. So what happened next? Did Times pay their taxes for them to be allowed to operate again? Or did they agree to a payment plan? Or did they bribe someone?
KOMA ANTHU AMVA ZITHU MUKAMATSEKA NYUMBA ZUULUTSIRA MAU MWAZINDIKIRA LITI KUTI MULI NDI NGONGOLE NDI TIMES .MRA MUKUGONATU MPAKA MUMASIYA NGONGOLE KUMACHULUKA CHONCHO MUKUGANIZA KUTI ABWENZA BWANJI.?
Just honour your legal obligation and continue attack the government full stop. Stop giving lame excuses here. It’s a reminder that you should be clean before you bad mouth your friend
Time is out 2019 you will be gone very fast, Is M.B.C. paying taxes when it is asking more money from Government when people are paying taxes. The madala team is gone 20 19 may. So many T.V. stations which are of low quality.
This is a negative reporting. Why presenting too many news here
June salary? Should be May. Of course it is true at Times the managers pay themselves early and the juniors are paid late, mostly in the following month
Paja MBC ili ndi ngongole ya zingati?
Let us politicising some issue like payment of Tax. We import goods in the country and we pay our duty, what is wrong with Times not to pay what it owes to government. Yes they talk a lot but that has nothing to do with the failure of management to see what is right. Lucky you are if it was in Europe , you will end up in court and no court injunctions. The management has just received their cheques and are happy. Please courts , don’t grant any injunction in this matter, as a local I pay my duty.… Read more »
As media house should live with prudent example every one is under the law