The Office of the Ombudsman has launched an investigation into Malawi’s mining sector amid a boom in mineral discoveries and growing concerns over transparency, accountability, environmental justice and the country’s benefit from its natural resources.
Ombudsman Grace Malera said in an interview on Friday that the investigation comes at a watershed moment for Malawi with several mining projects being established and mineral deposits being discovered across the country.
Speaking when Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Charles Mhango visited her office, she said that while the mining sector has the potential to transform Malawi’s economy, there are critical governance and accountability issues that remain unclear to the public and which the investigation seeks to uncover and bring to the attention of policymakers and the wider public.
Said Malera: “We have already started the process of doing a systemic investigation into the mining sector, particularly on governance and accountability issues. The critical impetus for this work is that Malawi is now at a watershed moment.
“A lot of minerals are being discovered and we want to look at issues of transparency, accountability and any administrative failures that may have characterised our extractive industry sector in the past.”
She said the investigation will also examine environmental justice especially the displacement of communities to make way for mining activities and how compensation for affected people is handled.
Malera said her office will further assess corporate social responsibility to determine whether communities hosting mining operations are receiving meaningful benefits from the exploitation of their natural resources.
In an interview during his visit, Mhango hailed the Ombudsman’s investigation, saying his ministry took up the issues raised by the office to Parliament for consideration and policy direction, referring to the recent investigation at the Immigration department which was tabled in Parliament
The minister also commended the Ombudsman’s Office for remaining resilient in serving Malawians despite various institutional and operational limitations.
The investigation comes against revelations that Malawi could be losing more than $700 million worth of gold to smuggling every year.
Malawi Mining Investment Company (Mamico) chief executive officer Leonard Kalindekafe told journalists on Thursday in Kasungu that investigations into international markets indicated that large quantities of Malawian gold were leaving the country outside government-controlled trading systems.
The mining sector currently contributes about one percent to Malawi’s gross domestic product, down from approximately 10 percent before the closure of the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in 2014, according to the 2026 Annual Economic Report.
The report projects the mining sector to grow by 5.9 percent in 2026 and six percent in 2027.
Under Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development strategy, mining is identified as a key driver of economic development with the sector expected to help propel Malawi towards upper middle income status by 2063.
