stand on the Lake Malawi ownership wrangle and tell Tanzania 'hands-
off'.
The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) Publicity Secretary, Maurice
Munthali told journalists during two-day second all inclusive
conference the institution organised in Blantyre, that government
should not handle the issue with kids gloves but take a strong stand
on the matter.
"We don't need to play it fair. Its all clear that the lake belongs to
Malawi and just like how the former president Kamuzu Banda did by
warning the Tanzanians from trying to claim part of the lake, this
government should also do the same. We need to tell Tanzania the
truth, Hands –off," Munthali said.
Munthali added: "You don't negotiate when one tries to steal your
wife. It's the moment we speak the truth and not playing around with
this issue. Negotiations on the matter will not help us because it's
known fact that the lake belongs to Malawi".
However government has defended its stand on the matter by pushing for
contact and dialogue with the neighbouring country, saying it is one
of many ways to solve the boarder dispute.
Minister of Information and Civic Education, Moses Kunkuyu argued that
government was using diplomatic approach in order to sort out the
matter.
"It's not that we taking this issue seriously, but there are many ways
of solving this problem and one of them is dialogue. Its a known fact
that Lake Malawi belongs to Malawi in its entirety but at this moment
we are trying to give dialogue a chance and see how far we can go in
resolving the wrangle against our counterpart, Tanzania," Kunkuyu
said.
Government has asked United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
to mediate the decades-long border dispute after dialogue with the
northern country failed bear fruits.
Tanzania has already released new map that shows the border line
passing in the middle of the disputed lake belongs to that country and
reports are that some fishermen from Malawi are being denied access to
the other part of the lake by Tanzanian authorities.
In the standoff Tanzania is claiming half of the Lake which is called
Lake Nyasa in Tanzania. But Malawi claims the entire Lake basing on
1890 Anglo-German treaty also known as the Heligoland which put the
border line on the shores of Lake Malawi.
Lake Malawi, known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania, is Africa's third
largest lake and it is thought to sit over highly coveted oil and gas
reserves.
Malawi claims sovereignty over the entirety of the lake while Tanzania
says it is entitled to 50 percent of it.
The dispute comes as a British company Surestream Petroleum is
conducting Environmental Impact Assessment on the lake after Malawi
government awarded it a contract last year to start gas and oil
exploration there.
Gas finds off Tanzania and Mozambique have led to predictions the
region could become the third largest exporter of natural gas on the
planet.
Tanzanians 'war-mongering'
Meanwhile, according to media reports, elders in Tanzania's Mbeya
region has sounded a war-cry against Malawi over the matter when
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Bernard
Membe, visited Kyela district on Monday to collect views of the elders
there, meant to be part of the evidence to finally resolve the border
dispute with Malawi.
"If the government doesn't have guns, we are ready to attack Malawi by
means and ways we know and teach President Joyce Banda, who has
brought up this senseless claim," said a fuming and saliva spitting
Anyosisye Mwankenja (80) of Matema Beach who, like many elders was
speaking in Kinyakyusa, according to a report in Tanzania's Daily
News.
The report said tt was a highly emotional outpouring of anger that
Membe had to continually torn down with the words:"No, no, no. Don't
do that. Your government is stable and determined to resolve this
matter through dialogue. It is my prayer that you shall all be around
to see the final solution to the problem. I am quite confident that we
shall win this case wherever we go."
http://www.nyasatimes.com/malawi/2012/11/01/tell-tanzania-hands-off-lake-malawi-pac-urges-govt-taifa-elders-in-war-cry/
--
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