Ministry of Information and Digitisation Principal Secretary Baldwin Chiyamwaka has assured MultiChoice Malawi of government’s commitment to fighting piracy in the film industry.
Speaking during Media Showcase 2025 organised by MultiChoice Malawi at Bingu International Convention Centre on Wednesday, he said local content is now shown on DStv and GOtv as such, it is important to be vigilant in fighting piracy.
“Government is committed to fighting piracy, but all Malawians should join in this fight. Piracy remains the number one contributor of revenue loss and it has the potential to reverse the gains that have been made in the film industry,” Chiyamwaka said.
He also pledged protection of service providers such as DStv and consumers by the regulatory body.
MultiChoice Malawi head of sales Henry Edwin Banda painted a sad picture of how piracy affects business.
“The biggest effects of piracy is revenue loss which has the biggest impact. We are in business and we want to make money but piracy affects this. People invest time and money and others just come and reap from what they didn’t sow,” said Banda.
He said currently, there are three types of piracy that are contributing to revenue loss.
Said Banda: “We have cable piracy and this is common as cables could be used to ensure others watch the same. Cable television piracy is the act of obtaining unauthorised access to cable television services. It is a form of copyright infringement and mostly affects DStv for business.
“Then we have cross-border piracy where decoders are purchased in another country using false documents. Say somebody purchases a decoder in South Africa as if they stay in that country and brings it to Malawi and watch the content. It means to us as a business we are affected.”
He said they have in place some mechanism to curb piracy like a memorandum of understanding with the Copyright Society of Malawi where they work hand in hand with the police to identify those involved in the malpractice.
