The Peoples Republic of China has handed over 500 satellite Television Villages to Malawi.
The handover ceremony took place on Friday, November 15, at Nankhwali Primary School in Mangochi.
Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communications Technology, Mark Botomani, recieved the villages in behalf of the Government of Malawi.
President Peter Mutharika launched the project last year at Mponela 2 Primary School.
The 500 satellite TV villages are under China’s project of connecting 10,000 villages to satellite TV in some African countries.
In Malawi, 20 households in each of the 500 villages were identified from all 193 constituencies from Nsanje to Chitipa in consultation with Members of Parliament and Chiefs.
Each village that was selected received a 32’ TV screen, two projector decoders, three satellite dishes and three sets of solar panels and batteries to power the TV units.
“The project has given people living in rural areas an opportunity to have access to as much information as possible thereby making the rural communities more enlightened and progressive as they effectively participate in the country’s development and democracy,” said Botomani during the handover ceremony.
Botomani hailed the Chinese government for helping Malawi towards digital migration advancement.
Chinese Charge d’ Affaires Wang Xiu Sheng commended the cordial bilateral ties between Malawi and his government.
Sheng said the satellite TV will improve the lives of Malawians in many aspects as they will now be part of the global community
Member of Parliament for the area and Minister of Transport and Public Works Ralph Jooma thanked President Peter Mutharika for the many projects his government is implementing in the country.
Jooma said the satellite TV project has already had impact on his constituents. He said pupils are able to get new knowledge from some education programmes that they watch.