Africa-Press – Malawi. The Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining has expressed serious concern over illegal mining, revealing that Malawi is losing between US$300 million and US$500 million every year in unpaid taxes.
Speaking during a stakeholder interface meeting in Kasungu District, Acting Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Andrew Chisamba described the situation as pathetic, warning that illegal mining is draining revenue meant for national development.
Chisamba said the ministry had engaged traditional leaders, local authorities and key stakeholders to strengthen coordination in the fight against illegal mining.
“Starting next year, we will empower all district councils to recruit officers who will be stationed at council offices as part of the decentralisation process,” Chisamba said.
The Director General for the Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA), Mphatso Chikoti, said the meeting was productive and had generated practical solutions to curb illegal mining.
Chikoti added that the authority is working closely with the Department of Immigration to tackle the involvement of foreign nationals in illegal mining.
“We are working with immigration to deal with foreigners involved in illegal mining as this is not acceptable,” he said.
Senior Chief Kaomba welcomed the engagement, saying traditional leaders had gained valuable knowledge on handling illegal mining cases in their areas.
Illegal mining has become a growing problem in Malawi, particularly in gold-rich districts such as Kasungu, Lilongwe and Nkhotakota. As this is driven largely by poverty and unemployment, unlicensed mining has resulted in environmental degradation, loss of government revenue, and unsafe working conditions that have led to injuries and deaths.
The government has pledg doed to strengthen enforcement of mining laws and expand community sensitisation to protect natural resources and ensure that Malawi benefits fully from its mineral wealth.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
