The communication regulating body has since released the list of all the applicants in the local papers where it is advising the public to make any representations on any of the applicants and the respective type of licences applied for.
"Such representations must be in writing and should be submitted to (MACRA) any day not later than 7 June 2010 after which the authority will continue to do a preliminary assessment of all the applications received and then a final evaluation of all the applications will be conducted," said MACRA director general Charles Nsaliwa in the media release.
Ten applicants have applied for private national television licences and amongst them is Malawi's media giant Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL), publishers of The Daily Times, The Weekend Times, Malawi News and The Sunday Times, which has since adopted a new trading name Times Group Limited. The group proposes to establish Times TV.
There are also five companies that include owners of the national radio Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) that proposes to establish Zodiak Television Limited that have applied for regional television licences.
The embattled Joy TV, which broadcasted for a few months two years ago and mysteriously lost its licence because former President Dr. Bakili Muluzi owns it has also re-applied for a regional licence.
There are also five applicants each for regional private radio licences as well as national private radio licences while under community radio licences 11 applicants have shown interest.
The MACRA director general said they published the list of applicants pursuant to Communication Act requirements.
This comes fast on the heels of another process where out many applicants only two national radio stations Dziko FM and Maziko Radio and two national television stations Link Television and Beta Television got sound broadcasting licence and national television licence respectively.
