Stakeholders have expressed anger over reports that a company is carrying out mining activities at Mulanje Mountain, Malawi’s cultural treasure which has been the centre for tourism for decades.
Speaking to the media at a joint press conference held in Mulanje, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said there is need for an immediate withdrawal of Akatswiri Mining Company from Mulanje Mountain.
He said as a step forward, Friends of Mulanje, Tourism Association of Mount Mulanje, Tour Guides and Porters’ Association and concerned groups and individuals have engaged Mulanje District Commissioner (DC) Mr. David Gondwe on the matter.
“We have embarked on this course having received information that various stakeholders are seething with rage in total disbelief that Akaswiri Mining Company has descended on Chambe Plateau and is carrying out mining related activities without engaging the communities who are key stakeholders to this national, continental and world pride,” he said.
He added that in reaction to what is happening in the mountain, over 20 village and group village heads in Traditional Authorities Mkanda and Mabuka, bordering the Lichenya and Likhubula basins that make up the Chambe Plateau, convened an emergency meeting that mandated the aforementioned organisations and groups to lead in rescuing Mt. Mulanje from destruction.
“Thus far, we have petitioned the DC to do the needful by Thursday, December 21, 2023. Malawians may wish to know that Akaswiri Mining Company descended on the mountain on November 28, 2023 following a purported extra-ordinary District Council meeting held on April 20, 2023 which reportedly approved the mining activities,” he said.
Adding his voice, Tourism Association of Mulanje Mountain Chairperson Willard Mahata said the company’s action was in total disregard of the fact that besides being a cultural and historic natural resource, Mt. Mulanje is a UNESCO designated heritage site which is also a catchment area of water bodies and important rivers supplying water to people in Mulanje, Phalombe, Chiradzulu, Thyolo and Blantyre through Blantyre and Southern Region water boards.
He also noted that the mountain is home to the highest number of unique plant and animal biodiversity in Africa.
“Over and above that, bauxite, which is one of the earmarked minerals at Lichenya Plateau, is toxic. This simply means that mining in this mountain will lead to contamination of water, thereby posing sure danger to any living thing, including people,” he said.
Mahata then urged authorities to concentrate on tourism other than mining considering that Mulanje Mountain by any standard and measure.
“The mountain is a global treasure that as citizens, we must be proud of and jealously guard it from any form of harm,” he said.
Apart from water supplied to Mulanje, Thyolo, Chiradzulu and Blantyre districts, the mountain provides direct jobs to 600-plus porters and guides, 65 tourism facility operators that have provided over 30, 000 jobs in the hospitality industry, with multi-billion-kwacha investments that will turn into white elephants should the mountain cease to be tourist attraction due to health-related hazards stemming from mining activities.
There are fears that accepting mining in the mountain will mean incurring losses in billions of kwacha through taxes both at local and central governments levels.
There are also concerns that drilling will weaken further the structure of the mountain and change courses of water, thereby leading to flash floods that have the potential to wipe out humans, animals and crops as was the case with Cyclone Freddy.
By law, the calls of the concerned stakeholders are necessitated by Section 12 of the Republican Constitution, which hinges on trust, transparency and accountability, and more importantly, demands those exercising legal and political authority to make decisions, to solely serve and protect people’s interests.
The concerned stakeholders have since called upon the DC to make public all relevant documents that culminated into granting of mining license (s) by the Ministry of Forestry and Climate Change, and not the responsible Ministry of Mining, as expected.
“Subsequently, as a people proud of their treasure, all purported licences should be revoked forthwith since mining is not an option on Mt. Mulanje,” says the grouping.
Quite a few chiefs, very close to Chambe basin, a number of porters and guides (who also claimed to be the concerned citizens, at some time), and some public officers in the district, secretly welcomed the company and facilitated the company’s activities. For instance, these group of porters and guides, were recruiting casual workers on behalf of the company, mobilizing the company’s survey equipment and other belongings to the site. On casual workers, this small group of porters and guides, were demanding some money from the locals in order to be given a job opportunity. The other group of porters and guides who have not benefited from this act is aware of those who were collecting money in exchange of casual jobs for the said company. This group of porters and guides has been acting as the company’s ‘BOUNCERS’ too. Bribes have betrayed the beautiful mountain.