Malawi: MBC appoints senior management

On 5 July 2010 President Bingu wa Mutharika appointed former acting director general of the defunct Malawi Television (TVM) Bright Malopa director general of the newly created institution now running state-controlled media services. However, a news release indicates that Malopa will now be appointed CEO.

New appointments

MBC's TV department is now being headed by Timpuza Mwansambo while Chimwemwe Banda, who was Malopa's former deputy at TVM, has been appointed director of news. Sphiwe Banda is now head of MBC Radio Two, while Hamilton Chimala is the manager for MBC Radio One. The positions of former managers like Geoffrey Kazembe hang in a balance as they were sent on forced leave.

Director of studios and signal distribution is Joseph Chikagwa while Felix Tambulasi has been appointed director of corporate affairs. Station managers for the television department, Radio One and Radio Two are Timpuza Mwansambo, Hamilton Chimala and Siphiwe Banda respectively.

Dominant TV personnel

Personnel from the television side have dominated positions in senior management which consists of 13 people out of whom only five are from the radio. The new senior Tambulasi told a local daily that the new set-up has incorporated people from both radio and TV while insisting that the restructuring process was ongoing.

Although the former minister of information and civic education Leckford Thoto assured employees early last year that none of them would lose their jobs following the merger, senior managers for the two institutions before they merged have been left in the cold and no communication has been made on their fate.