The Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Malawi) is appealing to government to reverse the decision to ban publication and circulation of The Weekend Times, a publication of Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL).
According to reports broadcast on various radio stations, the ban has been issued because the paper is not registered with the National Archives of Malawi.
In an interview with MISA Malawi today, National Archives Acting Director, Mr. Joel Thaulo, said his organization has launched a campaign to flush out all publications that are not registered. He, however, did not disclose the other unregistered publications.
Mr. Thaulo explained that The National Archives operates on two legal instruments: the National Archives Act and the Printed Publications Act. All printed publications, according to the Printed Publications Act, are required to register with the National Archives and at the same time submit a copy of their publication to the organization.
Our findings show that it is not only the Weekend Times which is not registered with the National Archives of Malawi, but numerous other publications. Our findings further show that management of BNL filed the necessary paper work for registration with the National Archives some time back.
It is surprising, therefore, to note that the ban has only been issued on the Weekend Times and after BNL management had duly filed the necessary papers with the National Archives for registration. MISA Malawi is therefore appealing to government and the National Archives in particular to consider rescinding the ban on The Weekend Times.
Post published in: News