Don’t dump waste on beaches, says chief

Group village head (GVH) Chembe of Cape Maclear in Mangochi has urged people not to dump waste on beaches along Lake Malawi.

Speaking on Wednesday during the launch of a clean-up campaign jointly organised by Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi ( Wesm) and International Coastal Clean-up ( ICC), the chief said the tendency has the potential to affect tourism in the district.

Said Chembe: “I condemn the disposal of rotten dog carcasses, baby diapers, used condoms, bottles, torn clothes and other rotten materials on the beaches,” he said, adding that Cape Maclear used to be a clean place with beautiful beaches.

“The area’s cleanliness used to attract tourists from all over the world. Today the beach looks filthy. This cannot attract people to visit the place.”

Wesm Monkey Bay branch chairperson Paul Mwasesa said in collaboration with ICC, they rolled out the clean-up exercises to safeguard the environment.

“We cleaned the beaches because we saw that waste was piling up on them,” he said.

Lake Malawi National Park senior parks and wildlife assistant Amos Chiuta commended the two organisations for the clean-up exercise.

“Poor sanitation can repel tourists and some materials such as plastics can be hazardous to aquatic animals such as fish,” he said.

Community members joined the clean-up exercise, which will be conducted on Monday and Friday every week.