Mkulukuta MBC or Life MBC Director? 71-Year Old Benson Tembo Appointed New MBC Boss For Third Time
Mkulukuta MBC or Life MBC Director? It looks like the youth of Malawi will have to wait forever for them to be the leaders as the Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika administration has appointed a 71-year old man to be Director General of the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), only the Cables can reveal.
The current Chairperson of the MBC Board of Directors, Benson Matengambiri Tembo was appointed by President Mutharika about two weeks ago to replace the deceased Brian Banda who passed on in early August.
This will be a third time that Benson Tembo will be coming back to the national broadcaster as its Director General. Tembo was the inaugural DG for MBC TV in 1999 before he was recalled to be the boss again at MBC in 2012.
He later retired in 2015 after reaching the mandatory public service retirement age of 60.
Surprisingly, Tembo, 71, was picked earlier this year to be Chairperson for the MBC Board of Directors before his most recent promotion to take up the DG’s role.
Benson Tembo’s son, Thoko Tembo is the Minister of Mining also appointed by the current President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
Currently, Moses Chiwoni from the Ministry of Information is warming the DG’s office at MBC waiting for a substantive appointee for the top job at the state broadcaster.
Malawi Cables has it on authority that following the appointment of Benson Tembo as the next DG, the President has also appointed Moffat Banda as the new Board Chairperson replacing Tembo.
Banda is waiting for a Parliamentary confirmation on his new post at MBC. According to the Communications Act, MBC Board Chairperson and Directors are supposed to be interviewed and approved by the Public Appointments Committee of the National Assembly.
Moffat Banda, has also previously served as MBC Board Chairperson before he was appointed to be Commissioner for the Malawi Electoral Commission.
It is not known how Benson Tembo will maneuver to balance the pendulum in his new role as DG since his appointment is being brought into question not only because of his old age but also conflict of interest as he also owns and runs the Neno FM Radio, a media house that is in direct competition with MBC.
Before the appointment of Benson Tembo as DG, several remarkable journalists including Fegus Lipenga, Mzati Nkolokosa, Mgeme Kalilani, Greyson Chapita and Steven Maseya were also being considered for the job to replace the late Brian Banda.
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