By Peter Phiri:
There is a sigh of relief for employees of privately owned Capital Radio as the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has reversed an earlier decision to take the radio station off air for non compliance of license obligations.
On Sunday, the Malawi’s oldest private radio station went off air following an expiry of a deadline which MACRA gave the radio station to settle it’s outstanding dues with the regulator.
However this publication can confirm that MACRA has reversed it’s earlier decision to take the radio station off air awaiting a fresh license application following settlement of the outstanding dues.
We have established that MACRA has waived it’s own mandate which requires that the Board must meet to review application of a any new license and the radio has since been ordered to resume normal broadcasting.
“The MACRA Director General Mr Daudi Suleman called Capital FM Management a short while ago informing them of the decision’s reversal and I can confirm that the radio has resumed normal transmission,” a well placed source who opted for anonymity has told us.
Lately MACRA has come under fire from some quarters for exercising it’s license obligation of revoking licenses of non compliant media houses.
Many have deemed MACRA’s actions as politically motivated aimed at silencing the private media an assertion which the regulator has vehemently dismissed arguing it is just acting within it’s mandate.
Some media houses owe the regulator millions dating back as far as five years ago.
Recently, Media Council of Malawi Chairperson Wisdom Chimgwede on the eve of the World Democracy Day urged media houses to comply to their license obligations among them being renewal of licenses.
