A disagreement has ensued among Film Association of Malawi (Fama) members over a proposal to have the association registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
The association has been operating without any formal registration and the current leadership says the body has failed to maximise its operational mandate; hence, the decision to have it incorporated.
In an interview yesterday, Fama president Dorothy Kingston said the decision to register the association under the Companies Act is a temporary move as they wait for the association to be incorporated under the Trustees Act.
“When we came in office, our prime promise was to change the way things are run. One of the goals was to have Fama incorporated so that, among other things, we can check the financial management,” she said.
Dorothy Kingston said after seeking legal advice on how to go about the process, they are considering registering under the Companies Act which is a shorter process as they wait to finalise the process under the Trustees Act.
She said even though the company will have board of directors, the power will still lie in the membership as they will operate under a memorandum of understanding signed by all members.
“This is just an internal matter which will be resolved among the membership. There are just a few misunderstandings which need to be ironed out,” said Kingston.
But in a separate interview, actress-cum-filmmaker Flora Suya said the executive need to make them understand the benefits of registering the association as a limited company as opposed to registering it under the Trustees Act.
“I feel we are going to lose out a lot, especially on funding from government and other international organisations. They should provide adequate sensitisation for us to give them the benefit of doubt. They should not rush the decision, but we should move together,” said Suya, who served as Fama vice-president in the previous executive.
On his part, seasoned filmmaker Charles Shemu Joyah said what is key is the reasoning behind the proposal.
He said: “The most important thing is that Fama remains a member-based association, with power in the hands of the members. If the registration as a company is an interim step to enable the executive to be effective, then I have no problem with it.”
Fama general secretary Ignatious Scott Kaphinde said the idea was to solicit views from the membership to guide the group.
“At this stage, we will convene as an executive and determine the direction to take,” he said.
