The country’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mining has urged Malawian companies to start buying locally produced coal in order to develop the local mining industry.
The call has been made following a cry by one of the country’s coal producing companies in the Northern Region that most companies are buying coal from abroad.
According to Mchenga Coal Mining Company in Rumphi district, most Malawian companies that uses coal are buying their coal from neighbouring Mozambique, a development which is not good to them.
The company’s chairperson Johnson Dadazi said they are failing to develop due to less number of customers who are buying the coal. He singled out Blantyre companies as the ones that are in the forefront buying coal from Mozambique.
Dadazi admitted that it is too expensive for the buyers since Rumphi is far from Blantyre but he insisted that this is not a genuine reason to ignore local products.
Reacting on the matter, Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Bright Msaka called on all the companies in the country to start buying coal from Mchenga coal mining company in northern Malawi for the development of the country.
Msaka said the coal produced at Mchenga coal mining is the best than that which is being bought from outside the country.
“The coal mining industry is going to endure for a long time in the country and we have to work together to make sure that Mchenga Coal Mining company succeeds and at the same time the country benefits from its operations.”
“So, I am encouraging Malawian companies that uses coal to buy our own coal which is at the same time of good quality and the best,” said Msaka.
He also reminded people in the country of the Buy Malawi Strategy that government launched three months ago which is aimed at encouraging people to buy goods produced in the country.
Yourhoney Mwale,you lack knowledge of matters pertaining to resources and industries.There is no substandard coal in Malawi.Matter of fact,coal is a natural resource that is either extracted from beneath the earth by open cast method or deep mining.Mchenga coal mine produces Anthracite type of coal which has the best calorific value,and which can be used in industries including steel,electricity production, and in metallurgy etc.
You should have argued that proximity to such coal is a challenge due to transport factors not quality. Mozambican coal is closer to industries in Blantyre but this will affect trends in the country’s growth in the long term; Malawi can not be servicing its industries with imported resources.As a landlocked country, it should strive to utilize all its natural resources to the maximum and produce products that will be competitive internationally. This is why the country has to construct railway lines in all resource producing areas to avoid depending on foreign raw materials. If a railway line was constructed from Mchenga coal mine in Rumphi or Ngana coal mine in Karonga, industries in either Blantyre or Lilongwe and even Mzuzu wouldn’t have a problem transporting the coal- the country would be able to save forex from exporting coal abroad which is readily available locally.The more importation of foreign raw materials is avoided,the more the country would experience growth in its industries.Sometimes protectionism is the best bet to streamline progress.
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Malawi’s local products are expensive.
& are of low standard
I support this deal,bt i think local people can use it as source of energy jst lyk in s.korea, dats my opinon though #nuh_me
This request is going to b wise if Malawian coal’s cost is going to b fair than international coal
I fully agree. Time to consume locally. And save forex.
Bola pamenepo
#34%
It will not be fair to force companies to buy substandard locally produced coal. It is stupidity @ its cost
coal is not made, it is extracted and used in its natural form, mr.
it will depend the % and the kind of call produced