Good people, Israel Vibrations’ No End tells me there is no end to a good day. Although I admire the Jamaican reggae hitmakers, experience teaches me that even the best things have an expiry date—and when we start thinking that we are living, we must not forget that we are learning to die.
With this sobriety, I accept that the Christmas and New Year are gone and here is the time to face the music of the decisions we made in our merrymaking.
Actually, gone is that time the vibe came to town in droves, not dribs and drabs. This was that period again artists leave their loves and endure sleepless nights for our sake. As the entertainers reunite with their loved ones for a belated holiday, they are only happy to have cashed in on our yuletide—for there are literally no awards for all their marvellous deeds in the just-ended year.
When awards were credible moments to confer status on deserving achievers, the New Year jazz was never complete until Malawi Broadcasting Corporation had given us the results of our yearly public poll called Entertainers of the Year. Alas, the entertainers’ accolades are no more. Now, even President Joyce Banda cannot trust the State-funded MBC which has ironically been hijacked by crusaders of her orange People’s Party.
When Zodiac Broadcasting Station was spoiling Malawians with the president’s Safe Maizehood sermon from Chikoko Bay, I expected MBC leaders to go back to their soundproofed studios and start asking themselves why Malawians tend to look elsewhere for credible news and public communications.
There are no awards for guessing which orange partners are making MBC too acidic for information-starved Malawians.
Don’t cry the highly politicised “mother of all radio stations’. Just jazz up, for MBC competitors no longer broadcast to their friends and families!
Lest we forget, the end of yellow and blue eras on the state airwaves convinces many that the orange menace is not here forever. MBC must start ‘creating a world of possibilities’ for Malawians, not the ruling parties alone.
As the party dies, I pray for sanity in 2013.
