Stakeholders in the mining sector have faulted the government on what they call limited attention in promoting the mining sector.
They have also bemoaned the government’s delay in setting up the National Mining Company, among other things.
The government has been touting the sector as a possible mainstay of the economy after agriculture, which has lately also been faced with myriad challenges including low financing and harsh weather conditions.
In January 2023, the Ministry of Mining hinted at investing K5 billion in the establishment of the company but was not allocated resources in this year’s budget.
In an interview Wednesday, mining expert Grain Malunga said the country is losing focus on harnessing the potential in the mining sector.
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He said if well funded and operational, the mining company would ensure speed in mining projects and processes including signing of Mining Development Agreements (MDA).
“We are lacking direction and delaying in signing of MDAs because there is nobody tasked to specifically look into it.
“The directive to establish the mining company came from the office of the president, so the Minister of Finance needs to be serious in terms of looking at some of these directives that have got a huge bearing in terms of economic growth,” Malunga said.
He said further delays entail a loss for the country in both revenue and returns from mining activities.
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In a separate interview, Chairperson of the Natural Resources and Climate Change Committee of Parliament Welani Chilenga said absence of the company is fuelling illegal mining, trading and smuggling of minerals.
“We do not have a coordinated market for our mineral resources in this country and this is the reason we allow foreigners to come and buy from those who mine illegally because most of them are unlicensed small-scale miners.
“As a country, we are vulnerable to illegal mining and trading of minerals and illegal financial flows through mineral resources. This means a lot of our minerals are smuggled out of the country mostly by foreigners,” Chilenga said.
Minister of Mining Monica Chang’anamuno said discussions were underway to find the best modalities of operationalising the mining company.
A recent report by Mark Curtis titled the new colonialism documents how 101 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, most of them British, have mining operations in 37 sub- Saharan African countries collectively controlling over $1 trillion worth of Africa’s most valuable mineral resources.
Experts have been bemoaning low public funding and failure to swiftly negotiate deals with potential Foreign Direct Investors among factors crippling take-off chances for most mining and minerals exploration activities.
Malawi’s mining sector accounts for only one percent of Gross Domestic Product but the government says plans are underway to scale-up the sector’s contribution to between 10 and 15 percent by 2030.
