Ministry considering COSOMA’s request to take over restoration and management of Blantyre Cultural Centre

* COSOMA is proposing to take over this place on behalf of the government, but you know that such a type of proposal also needs us to sit down and ask our authorities to look at that

* But at the Ministry level, we are happy with the proposal, and we feel if this proposal gets a nod from our seniors, we should be able to accept that

By Memory Kutengule-Chatonda, MANA

Minister of Local Government, Unity & Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda is considering the request from Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) to take over restoration works and management of Blantyre Cultural Centre, formerly known as French Cultural Centre — the once mecca for theatre, arts, literature and other entertainment activities.

The Minister disclosed this in Blantyre on Tuesday when he inspected the rehabilitation works of the Centre, which has stalled for years, and Chimwendo Banda believes COSOMA can fast-track the development project of the place.

He expressed displeasure with the slow progress of the works, which he said was denying the creative sector the opportunity of having a proper venue to showcase their skills and talents.

“Lack of venues affects our artists because most of them can’t afford hiring private institutions,” he said. “For that reason, we are considering a request that has come from COSOMA, which is a government statutory corporation.

“COSOMA is proposing to take over this place on behalf of the government, but you know that such a type of proposal also needs us to sit down and ask our authorities to look at that.

“But at the Ministry level, we are happy with the proposal, and we feel if this proposal gets a nod from our seniors, we should be able to accept that,” he said.

On COSOMA part, Board chairperson, Chimwemwe Mhango said they were excited over the government’s willingness to hand over the institution to them to speed up the project, which in turn increases the number of venues in the country.

“Once we get a nod from the government, we will invest a lot in terms of resources, engaging better constructors and other expertise to bring it back to the old glorious days in the earliest time possible,” he said.

According to the managing contractor at the site, Akhtar Qureshi from OPCO, about K200 million is needed to finish the rehabilitation project at the cultural centre.

Blantyre Culture Centre has been deemed ‘dead’ or ‘an unfunctional facility’ by many people, mostly in the creative industry, because its rehabilitation works, which involve massive redesigning, have been delayed for years.

Meanwhile, COSOMA has indicated that this year’s distribution Blank Media Royalty funds will help musicians who have not yet found other ways to earn money, among others.

COSOMA spokesperson, Catherine Mitungwi Chiumia said this after artists and authors visited COSOMA offices in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu to collect their Blank Media Royalty money.

COSOMA distributed over K1.5 billion this month, of which K1 billion has been distributed to the musicians and K500 million to the authors and Chiumia indicated that those who did not receive their share from these two categories, will get their money in next month of August.

All the money that they have received covers the period from April 2024 to March 2025.—Additional reporting by Mervis Mwale, MANA