Malawi Government is facing growing calls to move with speed to resolve the Lake Malawi border dispute with neighbouring Tanzania.
Stakeholders interviewed separately said they were particularly concerned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to be silent and seemingly acting in a lacklustre manner when Tanzania, in 2024 alone, has acted twice in a manner which some sections of society feel is provocative and requires government’s action.
Besides constructing the Mbamba Bay Port on the disputed lake waters earlier this year, the Tanzanian government has now instructed teachers to use a map that depicts the border between Tanzania and Malawi on Lake Malawi as running through the middle of its upper half, not along the shoreline.
Yesterday, former president Bakili Muluzi said he had heard about the matters, but will together with fellow former leader Joyce Banda engage government on the matter.
He said: “I have spoken to president Banda on this, and when she is back in the country, we plan to talk over this matter, and get from the government what is being done.
“So, maybe on Tuesday, I may speak in detail on the matter after getting that response from the government.”
On his part, George Chaima, who is an expert in government, public planning and international policy, said the silence by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the Lake Malawi dispute was ‘completely shocking’.
He said: “Malawians deserve to know what is behind the scene. Many things are going wrong in this country because there is a lack of proper and timely communication. There is no accountability by the authorities to showcase their actions or failure.”
Malawi bases its argument on a July 1 1890 treaty between Germany and Britain that maps the boundary between the two countries along the Tanzanian shores.
On the other hand, Tanzania is invoking the 1982 United Nations (UN) Convention on Law of the Sea that stipulates that in cases where nations are separated by water bodies, the boundary lies in the middle of the water source.
Marine engineer Austin Msowoya, who was director of Marine in Malawi in 1982 when the UN Convention on Law of the Sea was developed, said yesterday the Malawi delegation did not attend the meeting.
“I recall vividly that none of us attended the meetings that led to this UN convention. Consequently, Malawi is not a signatory to it, and cannot be bound by it.
“All we need are lawyers trained in maritime law to help the government deal with the matter quickly,” he said.
For over a week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo has not been picking up calls while the ministry’s spokesperson Charles Nkhalamba is yet to respond to our questionnaire.
However, Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu, who is also the official government spokesperson, insisted that at an appropriate time, Capital Hill will speak on the matter, describing as cheap propaganda a viral picture in which he is receiving a portrait partly showing the new map of Tanzania, showing parts of disputed lake.
“Kindly disregard this cheap and childish propaganda. At an appropriate time the government will pronounce itself,” he said.
In a joint publication in April, security expert retired Malawi Defence Force Brigadier General Marcel Chirwa and Colin Robinson observed that the border dispute is in limbo as Malawi focuses her energy on more pressing needs.
