Mzimba, July 9, 2025 – M’mbelwa District Council in Mzimba has come under scrutiny following revelations that it has no database of miners or mining institutions operating within its jurisdiction.
This has sparked criticism from civil society organisations, with many questioning the role of local councils in monitoring and regulating mining activities at the district level.
Investigations have revealed that the office of the District Environmental Officer, which is supposed to serve as a point of reference for such information, has no records related to mining.
In a surprising twist, the Northern Regional Mining Office, which oversees mining activities in the northern region, also lacks a proper database of miners and active mining sites.
Currently, the only accessible source of mining data in Malawi is the central office of the Director General of the Mining Regulatory Authority, based in Lilongwe. While the information is technically public, the process of accessing it remains centralised, complex, and largely inaccessible to local communities.
Moses Nkhana, Executive Director of the Mzimba Youth Organisation and an environmental and land rights activist, has expressed deep frustration over what he described as a “bureaucratic bottleneck” that hampers community oversight and environmental protection.
“This is public information, and it needs to be decentralised and made available to all councils,” Nkhana told Malawi24. “People have the right to know what’s happening in their environment so they can take care of it. There is no need to centralise this information. Why hide such important details?”
Nkhana warned that the lack of transparency creates room for illegal mining activities, environmental degradation, and community exploitation, especially in resource-rich districts like Mzimba.
Mining activities, both legal and informal, have been on the rise in Mzimba, with reports of gold panning and other mineral explorations taking place in several areas.
However, without clear data, it becomes difficult for the public and oversight institutions to track these activities, assess their impact, or ensure accountability.
Civil society groups are now calling on the Ministry of Mining and the Mining Regulatory Authority to urgently decentralise mining data systems and empower district councils with access to real-time information.
Until such reforms are implemented, communities in Mzimba and across the country may continue to operate in the dark, unaware of the full extent of resource exploitation occurring in their backyards.
