by The Forum

So MBC now says it will offer coverage on its airwaves to opposition parties during the official campaign period for the September 16 elections. It looks like a move long overdue, but let’s be careful and not confuse it with a change of heart. 

This isn’t generosity from MBC; it’s pressure paying off.

For years, the publicly funded broadcaster has served as a cheerleader for the ruling party, shutting out dissenting voices. The sudden invitation to opposition parties was only because people, regardless of where the support was coming from, kept calling it out.

Let’s not celebrate too soon. The real test is in the doing. Will MBC give fair airtime, or later claim parties never submitted material? Has it put systems in place to make that claim verifiable?

To be clear, opposition parties should take up the offer — but the bigger point remains: this move wasn’t MBC’s idea. It was the result of sustained pressure.

And pressure must continue. That’s how change happens. That’s how it’s always happened — from the early ‘90s when civil society helped push Malawi out of dictatorship, to today’s calls for fairness in public media.

MBC moved, true. But only because it was pushed. Keep pushing.