Government incorporates Media Council of Malawi

“As government we have examined what the council stands for and the process of registering it shows government's seal of approval,” said Bande.

He said, since the council is supposed to accredit journalists, government expects it to flush out impersonators that had besieged the profession masquerading as real practitioners.

Reverend Semphere however conceded, “The process has been tedious with the first hurdle being government's scrutiny followed by its approval on whether or not we can use the name Malawi as part of MCM,” he said.

The MCM's functions will include the enforcement of accreditation policy, issuance of press cards to accredited journalists and the lodging of public complaints against the media.

Malawi media workers and practitioners first established the MCM on 24 November 1996, but it ceased to function and fell away between 2001 and 2002 before it was incorporated.