In 2017, the Leader of Delegation, the indomitable, the most hard working, the Genuine Professor Dr Joyce Befu, MG 33 and MEGA-1 and us travelled to the heart of Utonga, or Tongaland, to witness the birth of Mwato, or the Tonga Heritage.
The launch of MWATO was successful. Even the government representative, Goodall Gondwe (continue resting in peace) said so. In the evening as the we enjoyed our part of Lake Malawi with its shimmering sands, Muchenga wa Ndalama, we sat down to think about how we could contribute to making our country great again.
We came up with the idea of a free training of the community media and its reporters. We wanted them to report on what works. In Nkhata Bay, they would be attached to every constituency covering developments politicians promise. They would, once in a while, report on the goings-on at the district council and report for Chirundu Community Radio. If the concept worked, similar initiatives would be available for radio stations and councils in other districts of Utonga: Likoma, NkhotaKota and Mzimba.
We invited young men and women to the training. They were trained for one week by us, the best trainers of journalists Malawi still has. Some of them succeeded. Other failed. Naturally, those who did not find what they expected from the training.
One of the best examples of this cohort is dead now. He was seen with his camera dangling from his neck, almost always.
He died when his car was swept away by floods in Dedza on his way back from the Catholic University. The first indication that he had died around there was his camera. Rest in Peace, Gift Chimulu.
Then we sold the model of journalism to a non-governmental, no, a co-governmental organization. Accepted. We transformed it into a social accountability journalism in which community radio journalists encouraged to report the MGDS III flagship projects. The community radio stations in the Lower Shire would concentrate their focus on The Shire Valley Transformation Project. Those in Salima, Nkhota Kota and Karonga would focus on the Green Belt Initiative. Those in Nkhata Bay would be following up the Small Farms Irrigation Project II projects while those in Mzimba would primarily focus on Mombera University and Mwanza and Neno would be monitoring the Kam’mwamba Coaf Fired Power Plant and the list goes on.
Unfortunately, the Word Bank money that supported the institution to drive the social accountability programme dried up and so did our social accountability project.
When the new Tonse Alliance came to power, we tried to sell the model as a bottom up monitoring and evaluation technique that would force duty bearers to work cognizant that the rights holders, eni chitukuko, were watching and they were ready to intervene.
However, no one was interested, no one was listening. They were the best and had the best methods. Today, everybody is surprised that most of the things the President mentioned did take off, were not finished, or were nor done by government or were mere paper tigers.
Journalists accustomed to report speeches have now been forced to journalism to lay bare the things that the President claims to have done. They have done what they should be doing throughout the years. The realization of Malawi Vision 2063 needs them now and forever. They missed the chance. They should be doing Social Accountability Journalism and hold the government accountable.
A book, our book, on how the civil society, co-governmental organizations and journalists can do 360 degree accountability is forthcoming from Montfort Media.
