By Andrew Kaufa
Fire has burnt Malawi Telecommunications Limited’s broadband hub in in Lilongwe, an incident that happened on January 14, paralyzed most telecommunications services in the country including sixteen private television broadcasters going off air, Luntha Catholic Television being one of them.
An emergency appeal for financial support written on January 24by Luntha TV Director Fr David Miwagaba states that the fire that burnt the Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) equipment at CIVO Stadium in Lilongwe has indeed not spared the broadcaster which serves eighty percent of the Catholic population in the country and over 20 % of in the national population.
“I was in our studio in Lilongwe when we realised that Luntha TV is off air. I called Malawi Digital Broadcasting Network’s Chief Engineer Mr Dennis Chirwa to find out why all the 16 television stations broadcasters on MDBNL’s Kiliye-kiliye platform are off air except the government owned Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation (MBC) which is on satellite as well as Times, Zodiac, Mzati Television and Hope TV whose signal is carried by the Multi-Choice DSTV. This is when I got information that the entire control system at Malawi Telecommunication Limited centre which is the head-end of the digital platform is on fire,” says Fr Jailos Mpina the Director of Operations at Luntha TV.
“I was with two reporters when I arrived at the scene. I saw two vehicles of Lilongwe City Assembly’s Fire Brigade, a group of police officers and the destroyed building and equipment. We learnt that the fire men arrived on time but did not know how to operate the fire extinguisher. The second fire extinguisher vehicle arrived when most of the property was destroyed,” he continued.
An official assessment report of the damage is yet to released by consultants. However according to Fr Mpina who was interviewed this week, a quick estimation is that it will cost the station at least 50,000 Euros to go back on air in the shortest time possible will have serious implications.
“In the first place, being off air compromises the whole existence of the station as Luntha TV shall to consider the people on their pay role who are currently idle. Furthermore, the broadcaster license regulation obliges us to have our signal running 24 hours per day seven days per week, failure of which may give Government justification to revoke the license,” says Fr Mpina.
“Unfortunately some of the equipment has to be imported. Our technical team and financial accountant are working with consultants to establish the total value of the damaged equipment and what we ought to reinvest. Quotations are being sought but meanwhile we are off air and it is our hope to go back on air in the shortest time possible.” said Fr Mpina in a phone interview early this week,” he continued.
The MTL CIVO Stadium Microwave in Area 3, Lilongwe houses the control system (Head-end) for Malawi Digital Broadcasting Network Limited (MDBNL) who are the only digital public television signal distributor in the country carrying all the local stations including Luntha TV are still off air. According to Mr Chirwa, the situation will continue for several days to come as it has caught the MDBNL and all the broadcasters unaware.
According to Lilongwe City Fire Brigade officer Mr Gideon Mwanza, the cause of the fire is unknown as they are still investigating. However, speculation of many Malawians on social media and other online platforms is that it is a political move by Government to silence the broadcasters as the country awaits Supreme court ruling on the May 21 2019 disputed Presidential Elections which is expected any day between January 27 and February 1 2020.
Luntha TV is a non-profit making Catholic television station in Malawi which follows a citizen approach. Its signal is accessible via the country’s free-to-air decoder distribution networks operated by the MDBNL and the Multi-Choice’s Go TV platform. Founded by the Montfort Missionaries in 2007, it broadcast content that promotes holistic human development among its targeted viewers. This includes religious inspiration, educational, relaxation and information programs. Taking the development organizations as key partners, Luntha Catholic Television is instrumental in transforming the lives of the people in the country.
While the station is able to generate income for operational costs, its capital investment in forms of infrastructure and equipment has been out of the generosity of various Catholic partners such as the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Missio Aachen, Aid to Church In Need, some dioceses in Italy and Germany and individual members of the Catholic Church.
To go back on air when the MTL infrastructure and the MDBNL digital multiplex have repaired, Luntha TV has to purchase and replace all the damaged equipment at the site, which includes decoders, Ethernet switch, HDMI to SDI converters, POE power supplies, Ethernet cables and a radio wave link.