Malawi to miss boundary demarcation deadline

Minister of Lands Sam Kawale has said Malawi is likely to miss the African Union set deadline for completion of border demarcation and reaffirmation between neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique. Speaking when he delivered his ministerial statement on the matter at Parliament Tuesday, Kawale said such is the case due to the untimely and inadequate provision…

Minister of Lands Sam Kawale has said Malawi is likely to miss the African Union (AU) set deadline for completion of border demarcation and reaffirmation between neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique.

Speaking when he delivered his ministerial statement on the matter at Parliament Tuesday, Kawale said such is the case due to the untimely and inadequate provision of resources on the Malawi side.

He, however, indicated that the case might be different on the side of the neighbouring governments.

“…Only K95 million out of a realistic budget of K550 million has been allocated this year to cover both boundary projects. K95 million will only cover activities for only two months therefore Malawi and her neighboring countries will fail to finalize the boundary demarcation and re-affirmation exercises before the AU deadline of December, 2022,” Kawale said.

Among other challenges, Kawale said Malawi does not have enough vehicles to facilitate some of the works since the available fleet is old and requires frequent maintenance.

He also disclosed that Malawi has inadequate survey and mapping equipment and software adding that the software currently being used is those that are provided by neighbouring countries.

“It is my hope that adequate resources will be provided during mid-year budget review so that these activities are finalized before the AU deadline of December, 2022,” Kawale

The Lands Minister told the august House that if successfully done, the demarcation and re-affirmation of the country’s international boundaries will make boundaries clear and more visible, thereby preventing conflict that arises as a result of unclear boundaries between neighbouring countries

This, he said, will also foster cross-border trade which Malawi is committed to as it on the same day passed the One-Stop Border Control Bill which if assented to aims at sharing each other’s existing border control infrastructure and facilities to simplify and expedite border control procedures.