MBC bosses in court over dubious staff cut
Bosses at the beleaguered Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) will be standing in court docks to explain malice in their actions when restructuring the entity and on the other side explain to Anti- Corruption Bureau and President Bingu wa Mutharika why they didn’t engage independent consultants to handle the process.
They were four in number and they managed to consume K23 million meant to hire an independent consultant to wind-up the then Malawi Television Limited and rework a new structure of the MBC.
The appointed transition committee led by demoted Director of News and Programmes Chimwemwe Banda has brought President Mutharika’s image and popularity to shame again after failing to executive his clear directives in order.
Mutharika weighed the prescription from the board and management of the two entities before they were merged and directed that a consultant and a transition committee be set up to effectively sail the merger without any loss of job or grumbling of any member of staff, but the contrary has happened.
TVM and MBC combined had over 700 staff that half were security guards, cleaners, messengers and drivers but needed about 430 people to stay afloat.
“We have seen the worst and President Mutharika is not happy at all,” a State House source told Nyasa Times.
Scores of experienced, professionally trained and qualified media practitioners and managers whom made some members of the transition committee uncomfortable in one way or another slipped in to the deep by falling victims to the solo efforts of the committee members.
They have since engaged a top lawyer to have their concerned dealt in court where the first hearing was to take place Monday.
Most of them with original copies of University Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates are contesting the decision by the committee they call biased for “removing copies of our right credentials in our files to depict as if we all have MSCE’s or JCEs when we are professionally trained and have detailed experiences.”
Just a fortnight ago, Mutharika abandoned a recess at Ndata farm and called the duo which includes Felistus Chikusilo Director of Finance and Ronald Mateyu Controller of Human Resources to tell them not to “mess around his name by doing a doggy job.”
“At Ndata residence where these bosses from MBC were called, H.E told them to handle all these problems with professionalism and urgency,” said the source.
Mutharika now weighed down by a cocktail of calamities that have befallen Malawi has no trust in what Bright Malopa’s management has steered MBC into.
“ You cannot read what the President is thinking, and don’t ask me that because I have no answer,” said Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, spokesperson of President Mutharika before cutting the hanging up the phone.
MBC’s Director General Bright Malopa could not be reached to comment of the matter while Chimwemwe Banda simply said she was in a meeting.
Chief Secretary of Government Bright Nsaka’s phone went unanswered and the same was the case with his deputy Necton Mhura.
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