Waiting for resolutions on Lake Malawi dispute

The September 30 deadline President Joyce Banda set to have the Lake Malawi border dispute between Malawi and Tanzania resolved has long gone.

President Banda in July told mediators on the 50-year-old wrangle that Malawi would not accept any interim agreement on the lake until the dispute is resolved.

She also warned that if the two countries failed to resolve the issue by September 30 2013, she would take the matter to the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICJ).

But there is no deal in sight yet as the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) Forum of Former Heads of State and Government is still considering responses to four questions it asked Malawi and Tanzania to clarify.

But caught in the middle of the dispute are fishers from the two countries who do not want to lose access to any of their fishing grounds, the source of their livelihoods.

Lake Malawi, Africa’s third largest lake, has long been a source of food and a transportation route for the people of both Malawi and Tanzania.

Just like many other Malawians and Tanzanians, the fishers are waiting for the resolution of the matter with bated breath.

So far, both countries agreed to return to the negotiating table to try to resolve their differences.

In an interview recently, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ephraim Mganda Chiume said both countries are currently waiting for a meeting to be called next year (2014) by the mediators after considering responses to the four questions, among them on legal implications of the acceptance by either party of the importance of the lake to the local populations.

The two counties are required to answer the questions as a step towards the start of mediations.

The questions are:

1. Does Malawi agree that there is a boundary along the lake between itself and Tanzania?

2. What is the legal implication of the absence of ratification on the delimitation in Article 1(2) of the 1980 Treaty in relation to the lake?

3. What is the legal implication of the acceptance by either party of the importance of the lake to the local population along the shoreline and their use of the lake?

4. Are there examples of cooperation between the parties in relation to the use of the lake?

The mediators, led by former Mozambican president Joachim Chissano engaged the Malawi delegation in Lilongwe in July and thereafter proceeded to Dar es Salaam to consult the Tanzanian team.

Malawi claims the whole lake belongs to it, but on the other hand, Tanzania says it has territorial rights too.

Analysts have observed that the dispute is linked to the oil reserves that lie in the lake’s bed.

Tanzania has been pressing its claims hard ever since companies began exploring for gas and oil on the lake.

But the tension has riled Malawi for the harassment fishers along the lake have experienced recently.

Malawi has so far highlighted several areas of concern, including Tanzania’s proposal to operate a vessel in the disputed waters as well as harassment of Malawians.

President Banda told the mediating forum’s delegates that Malawi would like to see the dispute concluded soon.

Said President Banda: “The longer the matter takes, the more tensions continue to rise, especially along the border districts of the two countries.”

President Banda maintained Malawi’s position that the latter owned the entire lake except the portion that was ceded to Mozambique in 1954 for mutual benefit.

“If an agreement is not reached by that date, the forum should recommend the parties to proceed to the ICJ for resolution and ensure that Tanzania is also committed to the process,” President Banda said.

Currently, Malawi controls the lake’s territory based on the 1890 Heligoland Agreement, but this may change if Tanzania has its way.

Meanwhile, Malawi has already awarded two companies, Surestream Petroleum and SacOil, exclusive prospecting licences.

At the beginning of 2013, the forum under the leadership of Chissano, set out to resolve the dispute between Malawi and Tanzania over Lake Malawi.

But the mediation will not come on a silver platter because both countries have to contribute taxpayers’ money towards the process.

The forum asked Malawi and Tanzania to provide resources for the mediation, as the regional bloc had no funding for the exercise. The organisation said it would not guarantee a speedy mediation due to logistical challenges.

“We have developed a work plan and time frame with a proposal that probably the mediators should finalise their work by September 2013. I contacted UNDP who have since provided the start-up financial resources for this process. There is still a need for the two countries to contribute towards this process so as to make the process speed up,” reads the statement published by the Africa Review earlier in the year.

Chissano also said the organisation had identified legal experts that would look into the matter and make recommendations.

According to Chiume, government will contribute up to $350 000 (K156 million) to the forum on the Lake Malawi border dispute.

Malawi has already contributed $100 000 (K44.6 million). The total budget is pegged at $1 million.

“The budget is around $1 million. UNDP contributed $250 000 towards the process and each country was supposed to contribute 50 percent of the reminder. We have already paid $100 000. We are committed to paying our part,” said Chiume.

So high are the stakes on the row that any decision the forum passes next year will have far- reaching consequences.

But Malawi has maintained and looks forward to an ICJ determination should a decision by the Sadc forum not favour her.

And the citizenry is waiting with bated breaths for the conclusion of the whole saga.