Local reality TV show launched

A reality television dubbed Rise Africa officially launches this weekend with auditions in Mzuzu and the winner will walk away with K10 million.

The show has been organised by Rise Africa and will see contestants discussing solutions to a number of problems affecting Africa. It will be broadcast on Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) television.

“Ten contestants each from the Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern regions will be picked through auditions. We will then give them a task which the public will use as basis for voting for them,” said Susan Kamkosi Banda, Rise Africa co-founder.

“Once in the house, contestants will be given different tasks addressing themes such as education, poverty, health, culture and entrepreneurship. The show will also bring experts in respective fields to judge and shed more light on the topic at hand. The public will then vote to save one.”

She said contestants will not necessarily be confined in a house, adding they will be performing some of the tasks in tourist attraction sites such as the lake and wildlife reserves.

Banda said the idea is to sell the country’s tourism to the world as there is an agreement to have the show beamed on digital satellite television’s (DStv) Zambezi Magic.

“They will be in the house from Friday to Sunday to accommodate the working class and school goers. This is what, as a country, we can afford. Beaming on ZBS will be from 8.30pm daily.

“Eviction shows will be beamed live from Bicc [Bingu International Conference Centre]. Fans will be invited. Five contestants with the least votes will be evicted in the first three eliminations while the last one will see two being evicted, leaving the remaining three to battle for the K10 million prize,” she said.

Banda said the project, which is being run in conjunction with the department of tourism in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, is self-funding, but refused to disclose how much has been budgeted.

She, however, said the prize money is already available.

Sosten Lingwalanya from the ministry hailed the show, saying it will promote Malawi’s tourism as people from across Africa will appreciate Malawi’s scenic beauty and cultural heritage, among others.

The auditions will be held in Zomba on October 29, in Blantyre on November 5 and Lilongwe on November 12.

Those to audition are required to buy tickets using Airtel Money, TNM Mpamba and National Bank of Malawi’s Mo626.