Minister of Mining, Monica Chang’anamuno, has called upon district councils nationwide to collaborate with her ministry in overseeing the mining sector to combat the pervasive issue of illegal mining prevalent across the country.
Addressing members of both Mangochi District Council and Mangochi Municipal Council during an informative session on Wednesday, Chang’anamuno highlighted the concerning trend of unauthorized small-scale mining operations conducted by foreign nationals within Malawi.
The minister underscored that illegal mining disproportionately benefits foreigners at the expense of local communities, who, as citizens of Malawi, should rightfully reap the rewards of the country’s mining resources.
While acknowledging the ongoing governmental efforts to decentralize the Ministry of Mining to local councils, Chang’anamuno emphasized the pivotal role that relevant departments within district councils must play in curbing illicit mining activities and unauthorized mineral trading.
“We have established that there has been a tendency of people coming from outside the country to do mining and some of them come here without licenses.
“As a result, so many foreigners are doing small-scale mining by extracting minerals in hotspot districts. This is illegal because it is only local people who are supposed to do small-scale mining,” Chang’anamuno said.
The Minister said collaborative efforts are needed from district councils to ensure a coherence follow up on issues happening in hotspot areas.
She further said that some investors are taking advantage of ignorance of local people on pricing by buying minerals at give-away prices.
Chang’anamuno therefore said within the 2024/25 financial year, government will establish a mining authority to bring sanity in the mining industry.
In his remarks, District Commissioner for Mangochi, Smart Gwedemula, commended the minister for the awareness meeting, saying it was timely.
“The coming of the minister is timely, as in Mangochi we have had so many concerns regarding the way mining activities have been operating. Indeed, mining activities must be owned by everybody, including those in rural areas, in order for us to benefit from these natural resources,” said Gwedemula.
Before visiting Mangochi, the minister toured Zomba where she ordered that illegal mining in Traditional Authority Mbiza should stop after observing the extent of land degradation and many social ills associated with the act in the area.
