Peter Mutharika hails Times photojournalist
President Peter Mutharika has hailed Times Group photojournalist, Bonex Julius Binali, for winning a Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) media award in photojournalism category which was presented to him in Swaziland, yesterday.
Mutharika sent his congratulations to Binali in a statement from Minister of Information, Communications Technology and Civic Education, Patricia Kaliati.
Sadc Secretariat said, in a communication, that Binali was picked as a winner by the Sadc committee after going through various entries.
“At its meeting held from 20 to 24 June, 2016 in Kasane, Botswana, the Sadc Regional Adjudication Committee (Rac) awarded you the winning prize of US$2,000 for the Sadc Water Media Award Photo category for your entry on free movement of peoples of Malawi and Tanzania on Lake Malawi for economic activities despite lake ownership wrangles between the two countries,” reads the communication from Sadc Communications and Awareness Expert Water Sector, Barbara Lopi.
Binali is among four award winners in the Sadc with others from Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique.
“This is a proud moment for Malawi bearing in mind that out of the 15 countries in the Sadc region, Malawi was among the four countries that managed to get an award showcasing excellence in journalism in the Sadc region,” reads the statement.
Kaliati further says: “It is the expectation of the State President that these awards will encourage Binali and the media in general to achieve more success in future endeavours and will also inspire all of us to work harder in our efforts to put Malawi on the international map.”
In an interview, Binali said he was inspired to do more to contribute towards Malawi’s development.
“I am thankful to God, my family, employers and workmates for the support and encouragement given to me in my work. It is not easy to make it in international competitions like these but, with God, everything is possible. It is even sweet considering that I also won last year in the General Photo Category,” he said.
The awards were presented by the Sadc Chairperson, President of Botswana, Seretse Ian Seretse Khama.
The annual competition is open to journalists from all 15 Sadc member states and awards are conferred during the opening of the Heads of State and Government Summit each year. The awards are organised, managed and run by the Sadc Secretariat.
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