The increasing demand for energy transition minerals offers a significant opportunity to Malawi since it is making tremendous discoveries of these minerals which are used for renewable energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles .
As the climate emergency intensifies, and the world is readjusting towards clean energy, Malawi stands to gain a lot from the abundance of rare earth, graphite, rutile and niobium which are very critical to decarbonization. However, despite this good developments, the country’s extractive industry remains relatively small, contributing less than one percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2020 because most of the projects are still in exploration stage.
In contrast, other countries, mineral extraction and processing have driven industrial sector expansion, economic diversification, and productivity enhancement by supplying critical raw materials for clean energy production.
In Malawi, while the mining sector has provided employment and offers higher hopes to many citizens, it is also plagued by allegations of rampant corruption, bribery, and adverse environmental impacts.
It is therefore not surprising that the Government of Malawi is advancing mining as one of the sectors in the ATM strategy and as a driver of industrialization, aligning with Malawi 2063, the nation’s blueprint for economic progress.
But Perekezi ASM Consultants and Events believe that, unless the country achieves pronounced transparency and accountability, Malawians should forget about ever realizing any meaningful benefits from the sector.
Perekezi ASM Consultants and Events are one of the stakeholders working towards promotion of transparency and accountability with the aim of countering transnational corruption and bribery in the green mineral sector. It is against this background that, with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Powering a Just Energy Transition Minerals Challenge (JET Minerals Challenge), is spearheading the Empowering Stakeholders: Driving Just Resource Governance through Open Contracting and Licensing Project.
This initiative is designed to enhance transparency and accountability in Malawi’s emerging but corruption-prone mining sector.
With this financial assistance, on May 1, 2024, Perekezi ASM Consultants and Events organized a training workshop targeting senior media practitioners and leaders of the civil society organizations (CSOs). The training workshop took place at the Wankulu Palace in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.
An official from the Malawi Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (MWEITI), Leonard Mushani, admitted that Malawi could join the unenviable list of countries suffering from the ‘mineral resource curse’, if the country does not effectively deal with corruption, which is threatening every aspect of the Malawian society.
Mushani therefore called upon the media and CSOs to play their part in the fight against corruption in the mining sector, stressing that there is more that MWEITI is doing to support ant-corruption drive, which require journalists’ support.
In his presentation at the workshop, Mphatso Chikoti, the Chief Inspector of Environment and Head of Mineral Rights Division at the Ministry of Mining, assured the participants of the government’s commitment to advancing mining as one of the sectors in the agriculture, tourism and mining (ATM) strategy and as a driver of industrialization, aligning with Malawi 2063, the country’s development agenda.
“Our mandate is to ensure sustainable utilization of minerals resources for socioeconomic growth and development of the country,” he said.
In his remarks, the Managing Partner for Perekezi ASM Consultants and Events, Chikomeni Manda, said the aim of the project is to advance responsible and sustainable mining that is transparent and corrupt free to empower communities, protect rights, and safeguard the environment.
Manda added that the Perekezi ASM Consultants acknowledges the important role the media and civil society play in championing transparency and accountability in the country’s mining sector. It is very crucial that they exercise their oversight role in exposing and making sure that corruption is dealt with decisively in green transition minerals. These minerals offer hope to the country, hence the need to stay vigilant in safeguarding the mineral potential for the benefit of the citizens.”
He continued to say, that Perekezi leverages its expertise to facilitate industry dialogue, promote ethical supply chains, and drive positive change in the mining industry.