Chanco out of Mount Soche Declaration

Barely a day after assenting to the Mount Soche Declaration, Chancellor College (Chanco) community radio and television stations have pulled out, saying they are not part and parcel of the said declaration.

On Monday, private media owners in the country met in Blantyre to deliberate on the worrying trend being championed by the State House and President Peter Mutharika with the view to limit media space in its performance where Chanco community radio and TV were also

represented.

But in a statement issued on Tuesday, Chanco principal Richard Tambulasi said managers of the two entities did not authorise signing of the communiqué and categorically distanced themselves from it.

“Chanco radio and television belong to Chancellor College of the University of Malawi which is a public institution and do not fit in the private media category,” reads the statement in part.

The statement said the mission of the two media bodies is derived from the University of Malawi objectives which are to advance knowledge and promote wisdom and understanding by engaging in teaching and research and making provision for the dissemination, promotion and preservation of learning.

Reacting to Chanco’s position, Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter vice-chairperson Yvonne Sundu described Chanco’s pulling out from the declaration as an unfortunate decision.

“We hope this is not as a result of external pressure from powers that be and that government is not involved in all this as that is what we are speaking against; divide and rule,” she said. n