MACRA CAUTIONS MEDIA HOUSES ON HATE SPEECHES AHEAD OF THE ELECTIONS

Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has urged all media house  in the country to desist from airing  hate speeches ahead of the country’s first ever tripartite election or else face closure.

The call comes barely few days after  President Joyce Banda said some media houses are promoting hate speeches which threatens the country’s security.

MACRA’s Director General, Charles Nsaliwa made the warning during the opening of a broadcaster’s workshop, which was aimed at sensitizing broadcasters on their big role of ensuring that the country holds free and fair elections.

The authority through the Broadcasting Monitoring Complaints Committee noted that most complaints that come through are related to hate speech through phone-in programs held on radio stations.

“For those individuals who do not abide by this, we legally have got the power to ban them never to come with live programs in their studios,” Nsaliwa said.

At the workshop, Nsaliwa advised all radio stations to procure profanity or delay machines to censor what callers say.