Japan gives MBC K465m

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Kae Yanagisawa

The Japanese government has provided a grant of 465 million Kwacha to Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for the improvement of television broadcasting equipment.

The money has been provided under the Japanese Cultural Grant Assistance and will facilitate the procurement and installation of shooting, editing, and studio equipment for MBCTV in Blantyre.

In his speech after receiving the grant, Malawi Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe said the assistance has come at the right time when the country needs funds to improve the quality of broadcasting at MBC.

“With the procurement of the new equipment, we are hoping to have quality pictures on the Television station. The resources are most welcome to us because we could not afford to purchase the equipment on our own,” Gondwe said.

He said the new equipment will help a lot in upgrading from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Japanese Ambassador to Malawi Kae Yanagisawa said Japan is committed to supporting the local television broadcasting industry because of the various social and economic information it delivers.

“Japan considers the importance of a good and reliable local television broadcast, because through local television broadcasting the people who are a majority in a nation benefit a lot as they are able to follow events and get exposed to the educational information necessary for their lives,” explained Yanagisawa.

The Ambassador said that through this grant, outdated equipment at MBC will be replaced and its studio facilities will be modernized.

“This will help to strengthen the public broadcaster’s programs and improve the quality of production. In addition the grant will also facilitate the procurement of Japanese TV programs which are educative and informative programs focusing more on mathematics, science and technology, health and agriculture and suitable for people of all ages,” Yanagisawa said.