The Authority has embarked on a journey of engaging relevant stakeholders at district level to help curb the recent escalation of unsafe and illegal mining activities in the country.

On Tuesday MMRA had a sensitization and a consultative meeting with officials, traditional leaders and security agencies from Lilongwe, Nkhotakota and Kasungu districts at Chikho Motel in Kasungu district.

Acting Principal Secretary for the Department of Mining, Andrew Chisamba, acknowledged, unsafe and illegal mining as a major challenge the department is facing saying the malpractice is resulting in people losing lives, destruction of the environment and destabilization of community governance systems.

“Let me emphasize that the Government is not against artisanal mining. What we seek is order, safety, legality, and shared benefits. This engagement is also part of a broader national process. The outcomes of these meetings are to feed into an inter-ministerial meeting involving relevant ministries,” said Chisamba.

Speaking when making a presentation, The Director General for MMRA, Mphatso Chikoti, said the aim of the engagement meeting was to have a shared understanding, and strengthen collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure mining is done responsibly and within laws.

“Mainly we wanted to share ideas and also collect their input on how best we can handle the unsafe and illegal mining activities that are taking place in their respective areas, as a way of curbing this malpractice. Them as leaders and key custodians of land their input on this issue is crucial,” said Chikoti.

Speaking earlier, Senior Chief Kaomba from Kasungu district commended MMRA for organizing such a meeting saying the meeting accorded them a platform to express their concerns, views and also provide solutions on the issue of illegal mining.