MISA Malawi seeks intervention over state advertising

MISA Malawi chairperson, Brian Ligomeka

“Through our own monitoring system and from published reports, we at MISA Malawi have learnt with great shock that government has stopped advertising with some print and electronic media houses. Strangely, the reason for the withdrawal has not been disclosed and hence remains unknown,” said MISA Malawi chairperson, Brian Ligomeka in the statement.

He said this development is shocking, as it has come at a time when media houses in the country have demonstrated that they are government's true partners by contributing to national development through their core professional work and through their various social responsibility programmes.

A day before this release the Nation Publications cried foul over government's decision where it noted the prohibition issued to government ministries, departments and parastatals to advertise in NPL publications on “orders from above.”

NPL is the publisher of daily The Nation, Weekend Nation, Nation on Sunday and FUKO, a fortnightly vernacular newspaper in Chichewa and Tumbuka.

NPL executive chairman Aleke Banda, former cabinet minister in different portfolios, advised government to contact media bodies in the country to resolve the matter in a constructive way.

“In the absence of a coherent statement from the government on the ban, we stand with our heads held high; doing as servants of the people, what we believe is our rightful duty. If we have made mistakes, we would like to be told so that we do not repeat them,” said Banda.

“We reiterate that barring us from covering government functions does not bode well with the constitutional obligation government has, in support of free press,” he added.

In their statement, MISA Malawi says the barring of some sections of the media from covering functions and events is retrogressive.