In recent weeks, the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) has found itself in the limelight, not exactly over pleasant reasons.
It does not mean they are particularly on the wrong side on the matters at hand, but it just underlines how much public interest the entity commands in its every day operations.
Not long ago, the society faced questions on the methodology used in determining Blank Media Levy royalties from a section of creatives in the country. The artists sought clarity from Cosoma on what really informs their allocation in awarding royalties under Blank Media Levy.
Next was a request made by poets, visual artists and comedians to Cosoma to have them included in the Blank Media Levy royalty bracket. They questioned why the current Cosoma royalty structures sideline them from benefiting from the provision.
As if that was not enough, at the end of last week, Cosoma found themselves in the limelight again following the awarding of grants to serving Cosoma board chairperson Bishop Chimwemwe Mhango members Wendy Harawa and Deborah Ntopa under the Copyright Fund.
The recent development appears to have incensed a good number of art players and other groups of interest such that a petition soliciting signatures to challenge the decision was quickly rolled out.
Now, the petition has been submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman, with different concerns and recommendations outlined. That should give one a clear picture of how much weight Cosoma has felt in recent weeks.
If we can sieve through the issues, you will see one common denominator; money. Where monetary issues are involved, there are bound to be questions raised here and there.
Everyone wants money and where there seems to be smelling money, a huge attraction will surely follow. The Cosoma pulse appears to be over-swelling of late. And that has not gone unnoticed with their membership.
In my opinion, some of the issues being raised just requires Cosoma to be ahead in sharing of valuable information with its membership. Their public relations and communication machinery need to on toes throughout.
They say where there is no information, there is always bound to be speculation, fear and suspension. Some of the matters being raised probably just need a little bit of civic education to be addressed. It may stem from little misunderstandings that can only require a 30-minute debrief to patch up.
I am sure the copyright body has enough resources both monetary and human to conduct these civic education interactions with its membership in all three regions to provide them insights on what guides their operations and decisions across their service structure.
They should even consider making these sessions in the particular language of preference for their members so they should not be any room for one to claim they have not grasped anything from the meetings.
There seems to be so much bad blood between Cosoma and its membership at the moment. That antagonism does not sit well for two sides who are supposed to pull in one direction rather be seen to be endlessly fighting.
They say a stich in time serves nine. The Cosoma communication team has its work cut out for itself. Let them embrace their membership, bring them closer and provide them all the answers they seek
