Government has blamed the developer of the proposed Mulalo Granular Fertiliser Production Factory for delays in securing environmental approval, saying the company has failed to submit a revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for nearly nine months.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change says the outstanding ESIA report is a key requirement before the project can receive approval to proceed.
Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change Patricia Wiskesi disclosed this in Parliament on Thursday, saying the prolonged delay resulted from the developer’s failure to address concerns raised by the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), thereby preventing the authority from completing its statutory review of the project.
Wiskesi stressed that MEPA had fully complied with the Environmental Management Act throughout the assessment process and could not legally proceed with the review until the revised ESIA report was submitted.
According to the minister, MEPA’s preliminary assessment identified several significant shortcomings in the original ESIA report that had to be addressed before environmental clearance could be considered.
She said the deficiencies included inadequate plans for hazardous waste and wastewater management, weak occupational health and safety measures, insufficient consultation with affected stakeholders, shortcomings in the project’s design, and incomplete documentation relating to land ownership.
“The authority could not continue reviewing the application until these issues were addressed through a revised ESIA report, as required by law,” Wiskesi told Parliament.
She further revealed that official records indicate the developer failed to submit the revised report between July 2025 and March 2026, effectively bringing the environmental approval process to a standstill during that period.
In addition to the outstanding technical concerns, Wiskesi said the prescribed environmental assessment fees also remained unpaid, further delaying progress on the application.
The minister emphasized that environmental clearance is governed by legal and technical requirements rather than political considerations, insisting that every project must meet the standards prescribed under Malawi’s environmental laws before approval can be granted.
Her remarks come as Parliament has established an ad hoc committee to investigate issues surrounding the proposed fertiliser production project.
Wiskesi assured legislators that her ministry would fully cooperate with the parliamentary inquiry by providing all the necessary information to assist the committee in establishing the facts surrounding the delayed approval process.
The proposed Mulalo Granular Fertiliser Production Factory is regarded as a strategic investment expected to enhance Malawi’s fertiliser production capacity and strengthen agricultural productivity.
However, the project cannot proceed without obtaining mandatory environmental approval from MEPA, the statutory authority responsible for ensuring that major development projects comply with national environmental protection standards.
