Mining & Trade News

Forestry conservation on Malawi’s highest mountain massif, Mulanje Mountain, faces huge challenges from massive encroachment, plundering and illegal trafficking, says Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT), a conservation crusader.

MMCT says encroachment and deforestation, triggered by overpopulation and increased demands for forest products for domestic use is fast diminishing the mountains’ vegetation and cover.

Charcoal burning, illicit logging and transfer of timber as well as the highly protected cider trees and other forest products by community members are some of the major activities that have negatively affected natural resources conservation on Mulanje Mountain.

The Trust’s Programme Officer Kondwani Chamwala says the progress being made by MMCT constantly encounter frustrations from encroachers and illegal loggers.

“Encroachment and destructive bushfires suppresses growth of forest plants,” he say.

Chamwala, however, points out that his organisation is not relenting on exploring awareness campaigns through community outreach programs using drama and other interactive approaches to educate the masses on conserving the mountain’s natural resources.

Meanwhile, the Trust says it has plans already in place to preserve the mountain’s greenery, especially now that the rainy season has arrived.

Chamwala says for the past three rainy seasons, the Trust has been promoting the planting of the endangered Mulanje Cider, which has earned itself an accolade as the National Tree.

MMCT is also planting other tree species on the mountain to provide community members with alternative benefits away from the endangered species and immature plants.

Mulanje Mountain, Malawi’s largest and Africa’s third highest, is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions.

One of the Africa’s non-profit organisations working on fostering the agenda of emerging entrepreneurs, Kukaya Foundation, will Saturday host a luncheon for participants gracing the Global Entrepreneurs Week (GEW) commemoration currently underway in Blantyre, Malawi.

Speaking in an interview with Mining and Trade Review, CEO for the Zimbabwe based foundation Ruzivo Chipeta said the luncheon will be held at Dzuka hub in Blantyre.

She explained that the event will create a platform for local entrepreneurs to share ideas and experiences to inspire future innovators and entrepreneurs in Malawi.

“Our mission as an organization is to inspire people to dream, believe, design, create and own their life stories in a way that impacts the world positively,” she said promising that activities during the luncheon will not only inspire future entrepreneurs but will also create networks that can bear powerful collaborations and partnerships.

Chipeta explained that the word ‘Kukaya’ means ‘home’ and in the context of the Foundation, it represents an African proverb that says; “Children are raised by the village where everyone in the society has a role to raise, mentor and empower young people to become responsible adults”.

Kukaya Foundation operates in 12 African countries where it promotes innovation, creativity and leadership among high school youths.

The GEW commemorations are held across the globe for one week every November. Participants are inspired through campaigns to explore their potential as self-starters, innovators and job creators who can bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.

As part of commemorations, local entrepreneurs will also be given an opportunity to take part in the #IAmAnEntrepreneur  40 seconds video challenge and the winner will receive a free trip to the next Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March 2021. 

The Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) says construction of the 350 MW Mpatamanga hydro-power plant will start mid-next year.

PPPC Acting Executive Director Audrey Mwala said procurement of a prospective investor for the new hydro-power plant on Malawi’s biggest and longest river, the Shire, is currently underway.

“We rolled out the procurement exercise mid-2020 and we are hopeful that everything will be completed by the end of the year,” Mwala said.

She explained that upon completion of the procurement process, the selected investor will have six months to identify a contractor with expertise and capacity to construct the power plant as planned.

Mwala said PPPC is committed to speeding up the processes in an effort the rid the country of the intermittent power outages it continuously faces and boost its trade and industrial sectors.

Construction of the Mpatamanga power plant site is expected to last for not more than four and a half years.

Barely two weeks after the Indigenous Business Persons Association of Malawi (IBAM) called on the State to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) affected by Covid-19, Minister of Industries Roy Kachale says government is monitoring the situation and geared to offer different rescue interventions.

In the wake of a steady drop in the number of Covid-19 positive cases, IBAM challenged government to inject stimulus financial packages to resuscitate struggling businesses that have the capacity to meaningfully contribute to the national economy once the pandemic is gone.

 “We cannot specifically point at one area in the industry that has been negatively affected by the pandemic, but for sure SMEs have suffered a lot,” Kachale said.

He pointed out that access to finance and markets are major solutions towards the challenge being faced by the SMEs.

“Government is working hand in hand with development partners to bail out the country from the siege,” he said explaining that developing partners are willing to finance the survival of the country’s SMEs.

 “Since the future looks brighter and that there is interest to support the industry, we need strict measures to ensure that the money is used for its intended purposes,” he said.

The Indigenous Business Persons Association of Malawi (IBAM) says it is optimistic that business prospects will pick up in the wake of the slow-down in number of people testing positive for coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the country.

The Covid-19 pandemic depressed Malawi’s economy as businesses slowed, productivity was reduced, and companies downsized and closed operations while tax revenue decreased.

Malawi’s economy is dominated by the informal sector characterized by small and medium businesses which account for 89 per cent of the country’s labour force.

IBAM president, Mike Mlombwa, says when the pandemic broke out in the country, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) panicked and were forced to borrow money and obtain goods and services on loan to sustain their operations.

Following the declaration of a State of Disaster on March 20, government announced Covid -19 preventive measures which included suspension and reduction of some social and economic activities as well as regulating access to public places, buildings and structures including business premises.

“We now have seen that Covid-19 cases are dropping and we have higher expectations to see our members bailed out from financial hiccups,” Mlombwa says in anticipation that government will put in place measures to cushion and spur small indigenous businesses from the effects of the pandemic.

At the peak of the pandemic, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) released a K12 billion stimulus package through the commercial banks to support private sector businesses hard hit by the pandemic.

Commercial banks and Micro-Finance Institutions were also directed to observe a three-month moratorium on interest and principal repayments on all loans contracted by micro, small and medium enterprises.

Following the launch of a national cleanup campaign by President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, the Ministry of Energy plans to boost energy production in the country by promoting recycling of wastes into various forms of energy.

The energy ministry says the launch will help put in place waste management systems that support use of biomass for household and industrial productions.

Spokesperson for the Ministry, Saidi Banda, says the ministry is in the process of reviewing its Strategic Plan to reflect new developments in line with the Energy Policy 2018 and the Malawi Renewable Energy Strategy 2017.

“The ministry will facilitate processes to remove taxes on waste-to-energy production equipment. It will also facilitate trainings for small entrepreneurs and youth groups among others,” he explains adding that the initiative gives Malawians an opportunity to convert garbage from landfills into raw material for renewable energy like biogas, electricity and briquettes.

Banda says the ministry is currently encouraging companies to start generating power from waste in an effort to reduce the amount of waste the country produces.

A UN report reveals that one-third of the food produced world-wide every year is lost or wasted. In Malawi, it is reported that fresh food waste is a major health and urban management problem, especially in open-air markets which produce a great deal of waste.

Meanwhile, as the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set targets to reduce the amount of food waste by half, Blantyre City Council transports organic wastes like over-ripe tomatoes, banana peels and cabbage leaves which are generated each day from the city’s open markets to turn it into organic compost which is later sold to farmers and gardeners.

President Chakwera introduced the National Cleanup Day campaign with an aim of curbing littering and to promoting cleanliness and safe environments.

Persistent power blackouts due to Malawi’s insufficient electricity supply, has compelled government to diversify energy sources from hydro-power to include solar, wind energy, coal fired energy sources and the power interconnection to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

Currently, Malawi generates about 250MW of hydro power while the suppressed demand is 351MW. The unmet electricity need does not account for the majority of Malawians who are not yet connected to the electricity grid.

53 per cent of Malawi’s population live below the poverty line and just 10 percent of the country is connected to the national grid with heavy load shedding schedules.

Intermittent power supply has significantly reduced the country’s industrial production rate.

According to Saidi Banda, spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, several companies are set to start complimenting the hydro power supply by producing and supplying solar energy across the country.

“JCM is currently planting equipment in Salima and will serve the country with almost 70 megawatts of solar energy,” says Banda adding that another company is setting up operations in Nkhotakota while others who have also signed power purchase agreements with government will be rolling out in other areas soon.

Meanwhile, EGENCO, a body assigned to be producing electricity in the country, has recently switched on solar energy to power Likoma and Chizumulu Islands on Lake Malawi.

According to the 2019 World Bank report, Malawi has abundant untapped solar potential, with an average of 3,000 hours of sunshine per year.

Government has confirmed that criminal locomotives attacks have contributed to low usage of the Nacala Corridor, a railway line that transfers goods between Malawi and Mozambique’s Indian Ocean Nacala Port opening access to regional and international markets.

Andrew Nthiko, spokesperson for Ministry of Transport and Public Works admits that despite rail transport being cheap and the Nacala Corridor being revamped, traders prefer using the Beira Port that has no rail route to import goods into Malawi.

The spokesperson says government has devised strategies to ensure safe and secure movements of people and goods on the Nacala rail route.

“We have introduced a toll-free line – 1718 – where any type of vandalism and theft can be reported to relevant authorizes,” Nthiko said.

He adds that government and the Central East Africa Railway (CEAR) has also identified hotspots of theft along the rail and placed cameras for easy tracing.

In a bid to facilitate continued use of the Beira Port, Nthiko says that the Malawi and Mozambique governments have agreed to extend the Limbe-Makhanga-Mutara railway line to the Sena line.

 “CFM of Mozambique has already secured funds to construct their 45 Kilometer line from Mutara. On the other hand, we have tendered for rehabilitation works for reconstruction of line from Marka to Bangula,” he says.

Nthiko further says that with the rehabilitation of the Nacala Corridor, government is optimistic that importers and exporters will start prioritizing rail transport when transferring goods.

“We hope to see people change their attitudes towards this mode of transport,” he explains.

Malawi is a landlocked country. As such, improving regional transport network is a necessary condition for both the country’s competitiveness as well as for improved regional and global economic integration.