By Mercy Matonga:
A shadowy foreign investor brought an agreement to have the government sign off on the sale of the majority of the land on Likoma Island for a casino development.
The deal apparently fell through after Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule halted it, Malawi News has learnt.
Details of the botched deal remain under wraps as well as the identity of the said investor.
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However, several government sources have confirmed the sale development in interviews with Malawi News.
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We have it on good authority that Kamtukule refused to sign the agreement which was presented to her by officials delegated by the investor who believed the government had committed to the sale of the island.
When contacted, Kamtukule refused to shed more light on the matter.
All she said was: “Likoma Island belongs to Malawians and cannot be sold. No further comment.”
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda said he was aware of some investors interested in developing the island.
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According to him, the majority of the land on the island is owned by the Anglican Church.
“Eighty percent of the land on the island belongs to the Anglican Church. I am aware that some investors are interested in investing at Likoma,” Nyirenda said.
But he could not say whether the sale of the land is being facilitated by the Malawi Government or the Anglican Church. Neither could he give details of the identity of the said investor.
We took up the matter with the Anglican Church, through Bishop Emmanuel Fanuel Magangani of the Anglican Diocese of Northern Malawi.
First, Magangani denied that the church owns the majority of the land on the island.
Secondly, he said the church is not aware of the sale in question.
According to Magangani, the church handed over much of the land on the island “to the people” in 1956 under customary land policy.
That means, the Likoma Island belongs to the community.
“In 1956, the missionaries of the UMCA [Universities Mission to Central Africa] surrendered two-thirds of the land to the people of Likoma, giving them ownership under the customary land policy. Native Authority Mpima was designated as the principal head of both Likoma and Chizumulu islands.
“Therefore, the church holds no title to the land, apart from specific areas like Makulawe where Likoma Secondary School and the church are located; Nkhwazi where Nkhwazi Primary School and the church are; and Chipyera where the cathedral is located, including parts of Mbamba, Jalo, and the two small islands,” Magangani told Malawi News.
The Anglican Church also shared with us title deeds and a sale agreement proving the transfer of the ownership of the land on the 18-square-kilometre island.
Magangani added: “We have not sold any land to anyone, nor have I heard of anyone purchasing the island. The land under the church’s title is not negotiable as it has been reserved by the diocese for future development
“There has been misinformation about land ownership on Likoma Island, with some claiming that the church owns 80 percent of the land and is preventing development. This is simply not true.”
The sources familiar with the matter could not say whether the casino investor was granted long term lease.
Likoma Island is home to around 10,500 people and is part of the Likoma District, which also includes the nearby island of Chizumulu which has a population of about 4,000.
Though Likoma and Chizumulu are part of Malawi, both are surrounded by Mozambican territorial waters. But they are Malawi’s exclaves.
Likoma Island is prized as one of Malawi’s finest tourism destinations.
The Anglican Church’s St Peter’s Cathedral, built in 1905 and said to match the size of Winchester Cathedral in the United Kingdom, is considered its biggest article of attraction its architectural art work and sturdiness.
The island’s crystal clear waters and sandy beaches provide for all manner of tourist activities ranging from scuba diving, canoeing, boat safaris, camping, nature walks to snorkelling.
