CHAKWERA POSTURES CREATIVE INDUSTRY AS ECONOMY DRIVER IN 2ND TERM

President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera says his administration has placed the creative economy and tourism as strategic pillars of national prosperity and pride.

He said this on Thursday night at Kamuzu Palace when he hosted a horde of local artists who received media blank levy loyalties from their mother body, Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA).

The iconic event, dubbed Chakwera’s Arts Stars dinner and the first of its kind, is aimed at celebrating the work of local artists for the crucial role that they play in the creative industry.

COSOMA has been disbursing K1.5 billion in royalties to artists and authors for works reproduced between April 2024 and March 2025, under the blank media levy system.

The event has brought together the cream from the music industry, producers, drama, poetry, video production as well as writers.

The President highlighted the policy direction he wants to see sustained going into his second term.  

“My 2025–2030 Manifesto makes this intent clear: to transform what the world admires about Malawi into what every Malawian can prosper from. This means creating an economy where a Jimmy Malinga painting puts food on the table; a song by Temwa pays school fees; a performance by Dikamawoko Cultural Troupe brings a village together; where Boniface Ndamera’s Chinamfuna M’bale becomes his pension; and where a Kendal Kamwendo or Joyce Chavula film tells Malawi’s story to the world,” he said.

I have increase the revenue distributed to artists from 330 million between 2014 and 2019 to over 5.65 billion in the past five years, 1.5 billion of which was distributed in just the past seven months, which has been made possible by the Blank Media Levy that compensates you for your art, as well as the Copyright Fund, which has already provided MWK 430 million in grants, benefitting over 5,000 young creatives

He also took stock of what his administration has achieved so far to empower artists through several interventions.  

“On World Art Day, April 15, 2024, I became the first Malawian Head of State to address the creative and cultural community directly, promising to enact legislation that secures a better future for our artists, which we have delivered. I have enacted the National Arts and Heritage Council (NAHEC) Act, establishing a central body to coordinate regulation, funding, and development for the arts and heritage in Malawi. I have signed into law the Companies, Registration, and Intellectual Property Centre Bill (2025) - The Copyright (Amendment) Bill (2025).”

He continued: “I have initiated reforms that relocate Copyright Administration to the Intellectual Property Centre, freeing COSOMA to focus fully on its core mandate: royalty collection and artist empowerment. I have positioned Copyright Administration to be directly funded by the Government and not from revenue collected by COSOMA, which means more revenue for you. I have increase the revenue distributed to artists from 330 million between 2014 and 2019 to over 5.65 billion in the past five years, 1.5 billion of which was distributed in just the past seven months, which has been made possible by the Blank Media Levy that compensates you for your art, as well as the Copyright Fund, which has already provided MWK 430 million in grants, benefitting over 5,000 young creatives.”

Also on the cards were Chakwera Cultural Honours in which legendary artists were honoured both alive and posthumously.

These included musicians Boniface Ndemera of Chinafuna M’bale fame, Giddes Chalamanda, Paul Banda, late Grace Chinga, late Wambali Mkandawire and late Lucius Banda.

Other posthumous honours went to visual artist Kay Chiromo, writer Desmond Phiri, and comedians John Nyanga and Eric Mabedi.