MACRA vs MultiChoice & more –17th Aug 2023

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 17th of August twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

The feud between the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (or MACRA) and MultiChoice Malawi (or MCM) continues.

On Saturday the 12th, a letter from MACRA to DSTV started circulating on social media. The letter was dated Thursday the 10th. In it, MACRA emphasized its commitment to enforcing the rule of law in Malawi and acknowledged Multichoice’s withdrawal of its DSTV services in Malawi.

Among others, MACRA told MultiChoice to indicate the exact date they will cease its broadcasts in Malawi and how they intend to refund DTSV consumers who had paid beyond the shutdown date. They also told MultiChoice to settle its unpaid license fees amounting to over nineteen million Kwacha, which is over seventeen thousand dollars.

On Monday the 14th, MultiChoice Africa (or MAH) sent a letter dated Friday the 11th to the Minister of Information and Digitization, and the Minister of Finance. The letter revealed that the three parties held a virtual meeting on Wednesday the 9th to discuss the “hostile operating environment” that caused the MAH to withdraw their DSTV services in Malawi. Among others, they emphasized that MCM is an independent company that does not own any shares in MAH, and that MAH does not own any shares in MCM. They accused MACRA of treating them like one company and revealed that their misunderstandings date as far as twenty twenty-one.

MAH indicated that they value their Malawian subscribers, and are open to resolving their current issues with MACRA.

In the wake of the MACRA and MultiChoice war, a new player called Impression Media (or IPTV) arose on the market. IPTV promised to give its subscribers access to more than one thousand channels and a movie library with over six thousand movies. While locals were skeptical, some subscribed and vouched for it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on the market for long.

On Monday the 14th, MACRA—through the Lilongwe High Court—obtained a search and arrest warrant against the Directors of IPTV. They also got a search warrant for IPTV’s business premises. The permit also allowed MACRA to seal IPTV’s premises in Area 9 in Lilongwe, because they operated a broadcasting service illegally, between the 1st of July and the 11th of August.

On Tuesday the 15th, IPTV released a statement saying they had fully complied with the court order and were engaging relevant authorities. They clarified that they were not a broadcaster, but an Over The Top platform, which is a service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. They explained that, when they applied for MACRA’s licensing in twenty twenty-two, the Authority said they were working towards regulatory frameworks that cater to internet-based broadcasters like IPTV. MACRA told them to use pre-existing forms for broadcasters, and they did, but are yet to get feedback from them.

They also clarified that they got a surge in users due to the ongoing MACRA-MultiChoice fiasco, and not by their own promotional activities.

There is no end in sight for Malawi’s fuel shortage.

On Wednesday the 16th, Moses Kunkuyu, the Minister of Information and Digitalisation, said this weekend, that Malawi will receive petrol and diesel enough for four days, while the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority looks to purchase more fuel.

It has been close to two months since the fuel scarcity started.

On Tuesday the 15th, the Malawi National Examinations Board (or Maneb) released the examination results for the twenty twenty-three Junior Certificate of Education (or JCE) and the Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (or PSLCE). The JCE exams determine whether a student can proceed with their secondary school education, while the PSLCE exams determine whether a student can start their secondary school education.

The results are great. For instance, Dorothy Nampota, the Executive Director for Maneb, said over 122 thousand candidates of over 168 thousand candidates who sat for the JCE passed. This represents a 72% pass rate, however, it is a small decline from last year’s 73% pass rate.

The netball fraternity was left in disarray after Mary Waya — a legendary netballer and coach for the Malawi National Netball team—revealed that male coaches’ behaviors are a big challenge for female African netball players.

She made the revelation during an interview with the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast on Friday the 11th. She revealed that women are pressured into relationships with their coaches to secure netball selections. She said the issue has been there ever since she was a teen player. She is now fifty-five.

Despite the disappointing revelation, Waya said she still believes netball is beneficial to players, and that it is empowering to women.

On Tuesday the 15th, people woke up to unpleasant news about the passing of Senior Chief Malemia of Nsanje district. Malemia, whose real name was Lameck Msamange, served as Nsanje’s Chief for twenty-three years.

He passed away on the morning of Tuesday at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre. He was sixty-eight.

Anjoya Mwanza, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, said Senior Chief Malemia died due to kidney failure, after spending a week in hospital.

On Wednesday the 16th, the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture announced that the late Chief will be laid to rest on Saturday the 19th at his Nyangodzo headquarters in Nsanje.

Still on government news, President Chakwera appointed Thomas Makiwa as the Auditor General for the National Audit Office (or NAO) on Wednesday the 9th, but local media only announced it on Monday the 14th.

The Auditor General position was unfilled for close to six years. It only had an Acting Auditor General, Makiwa, who filled the position in twenty eighteen. The public was pleased about the appointment since critics had been saying that the vacancy of the position was affecting NAO’s operations.

The Parliament unanimously confirmed Makiwa’s appointment on Wednesday the 14th.

Music lovers all over the country are excited about Nigerian musician Ayra Starr's performance in Malawi.

On the night of Tuesday the 15th, Kell Kay, a local musician, announced the performance via social media. His Facebook post read: “You have supported me for the past ten years. You are the reason I have reached this far with music. As part of my 10th year in music celebration, I

bring to you Ayra Starr.”

According to the accompanying flyer on the post, Ayra Starr will be performing in Lilongwe at Bingu National Stadium on the 15th of October.

Bingu National Stadium makes for an interesting venue though, because there has been a series of thefts there.

A few weeks ago, a viral clip revealed that criminals had stolen toilet sink sets from the stadium. You can check out the video in our show notes.

Salome Zgambo, the Public Relations Officer for Lingadzi Police, said they launched an investigation after seeing the clip. On Monday the 14th, Lingadzi Police announced that they had arrested two men—Chikondi Mapulanga and Clement Gidson — in connection to the crime. Zgambo said the stolen property is worth 2.7 million Kwacha, close to two thousand five hundred dollars.

Zgambo said they have recovered some of the stolen property, and have since increased security at the stadium.

Meanwhile, Mzuzu and Civo stadiums were banned from hosting elite matches because they’re in poor condition. The Football Association of Malawi (or FAM) announced the ban on Wednesday the 16th.

FAM authorities conducted inspections for Mzuzu Stadium on the 27th of July, and for Civo Stadium in Lilongwe on the 28th of July. Their report showed that Mzuzu Stadium's pitch was in poor condition, had no official capacity, had poor dressing rooms, among others.

Civo Stadium, on the other hand, had non-functional public toilets, no scoreboard, no public address system, among others.

This ban means the stadiums will no longer host the Super League matches, which are currently underway.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!