Malawi: Government calls for massive awareness on digital migration

Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture, Kondwani Nankhumwa, said this on Saturday at the official opening of a two day media training workshop on digital migration organised by Blantyre Press Club (BPC).

The training has been organised with the aim of equipping journalists with knowledge so that they effectively disseminate information on the new technological advancement to the masses.

Nankhumwa said issues of digital migration are crucial as such there is need for the media to be well informed on matters regarding the new technological development so that they relay accurate information to the public.

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"The task of creating awareness on digital migration broadcasting is quite enormous and requires collaborative efforts between government and stakeholders in the broadcasting industry.

"As such, we are relying on you [media] to tell Malawians about this switch over so that the public is enlightened on what is expected of them to migrate from Analogue to Digital broadcasting including purchasing digital compliant equipment such as Set Top Boxes (STBs) and Ultra High Frequency antennae," he said.

Nankhumwa further said government has already instituted various mechanisms to ensure that enough digital compliant equipment especially STBs are readily available across the country.

The Information Minister then said his office is more than willing to consider broadcasters and stakeholders who are interested to venture in STBs business. In his remarks, BPC President Blessings Kanache said most journalists were lagging behind on issues of digital migration.

"We believe that if journalists are not well equipped with digital migration, country is likely to go astray because they will be reporting mere speculations," aid Kanache.

He then said the training will therefore go in a long way in helping media practitioners in disseminating accurate information about the new technological advancement.

The training that ran from 30 May to 31 May, had been funded by the Malawi Regulatory Authourity to the tune of K2million.

There are only two weeks to go before member states of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Established in 2012, BPC is a grouping of practising journalists coming from Eastern and Southern part of Malawi.