Paramount Chief Dr. Kyungu XXIV for Chitipa and Karonga districts has emphasized the need for government to take proactive steps to tackle the issues of unsafe and illegal mining taking place in Chitipa and Karonga districts respectively.

Dr. Kyungu said this on Wednesday during a sensitization and consultative meeting that was held in Karonga district.

The Paramount Chief expressed concerns over how the issues of illegal mining are being handled saying the issue needs urgent attention because the mining sector can transform the country’s economy tremendously.

“As a country we need to discuss this issue in-depth, there is no control, we are losing a lot, and this is our wealth. This is affecting our children because there is child labour involved on those sites, health risk issues and many other problems,” said Paramount Chief.

Making a presentation at the meeting, the Director General for Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA), Mphatso Chikoti highlighted the role the Authority is playing recognizing the negative effects of unsafe and illegal mining siting one as community suffering.

“Given the urgency of the matters of illegal and unsafe mining, MMRA is committed and is working on a plan to curb the malpractice. These consultative meetings are part of planned activities to strengthen collaborations.

We recognize the pressures traditional leaders’ face, since mining is a complex issue, but I believe together we can ensure mining is done responsibly and within the law,” said Chikoti.

In his remarks, the District Commissioner for Chitipa, Frank Mkandawire said there is need to move certain functions from the mining department to district councils to enhance local oversight.

“We are asking the Mining Department to have Mining Officers at the council level, as soon as yesterday. This way we can deal decisively with these issues with support from the regulatory body, and the Ministry as a policy holder,” said Mkandawire. 

Speaking earlier, the Director for Mining Department, Samuel Sakhuta said the government is committed to addressing the issues of illegal and unsafe mining.

“The ministry is doing a lot on the ground to curb this malpractice. We are taking on board every significant stakeholder, like this meeting we engaged the traditional leaders and District Commissioners because they also have solutions to this challenge of unsafe and illegal mining,” said Sakhuta.

Illegal mining is a widespread and significant problem in Malawi, the government through Mining department is actively working to combat this issue.