By Mathews Kasanda, LILONGWE Malawi
Malawi’s Times
Group journalist, Ananiya Alick Ponje, has won this year’s Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) media award in the television category, attracting
applause from various quarters including President Lazarus Chakwera.
In a statement signed by Minister
of Information, Gospel Kazako, the President states that the development is a
“proud moment for Malawi bearing in mind that there is always stiff competition
among the 16 SADC member states.”
“Further, it is the expectation
of the State President that the award will encourage Mr Ponje and the media in
general to work harder than before,” reads the statement.
Chakwera also hopes that the award
will inspire every Malawian to work hard to put the country on the
international map for good reasons and that it reminds the nation that Malawi
has enough capacity to compete and succeed.
“Building on Mr Ponje’s success,
government encourages the media to participate in the 2021 awards whose details
will be made available in due course,” the statement says.
Reacting to the recognition,
Ponje said he has been inspired to work harder than before and always aim for
the best while being as professional as possible.
“We work because we have a duty
to serve others. But, when we get recognised for our efforts, it tells us that
our work has an impact out there. In fact, it also challenges us to do better
than before,” Ponje said.
A statement from SADC Secretariat
issued yesterday says Angolan Afonso Jorge has won in the radio category while
Prosper Ndlovu of Zimbabwe scooped the print-category award with Godfrey Mpuse
of Botswana winning in the photo category.
Ponje’s winning story ‘Adamant strangers? Mozambicans are back’
chronicled the lives of over 400 Mozambican ‘asylum seekers’ who had returned
to Mwanza district after their repatriation towards the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, the National
Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has asked the government to have
operational Sadc structures in the country so that Malawians can easily engage
in policy dialogue and social accountability related to regional integration.
The Executive Director of Nice
Ollen Mwalubunju asked this during the capacity building workshop of Nice
district information officers and community radios on the coronavirus and Sadc
regional integration.
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