Mutharika appoints head of merged TVM, MBC

16 Jul 2010

President Bingu wa Mutharika has ended growing speculation by appointing former acting director general of the defunct Malawi Television (TVM), Bright Malopa, director general of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) which will now be running the state-controlled television services and two radio stations.

Since plans to merge TVM and MBC emerged, speculation has been rife regarding who would head the institution which is set to take up the structural model of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

Malopa has been the acting head of the defunct TVM since 2007 after being removed as deputy director general at MBC.

Fate of others remains unknown

A statement from the office of President and Cabinet, signed by its chief secretary Bright Msaka, signalled the appointment of Malopa without announcing the fate of other officers who were heading the two institutions before they merged.

"His Excellency the president...has appointed Mr. Bright Malopa as director general of MBC with effect from July 1, 2010," read the statement in part.

Before the merger, veteran broadcaster Patrick Khoza used to head MBC while another accomplished broadcaster Chimwemwe Banda was deputy director general at TVM. Most people believed either Khoza or Banda were the right people to take up the challenging post since Malopa is still new in media circles having been involved in the financial arena when he was living in the UK.

Gregory Gondwe

About Gregory Gondwe

Gregory Gondwe is a Malawian journalist who started writing in 1993. He is also a media consultant assisting several international journalists pursuing assignments in Malawi. He holds a Diploma and an Intermediate Certificate in Journalism among other media-related certificates. He can be contacted on moc.liamg@ewdnogyrogerg. Follow him on Twitter at @Kalipochi.