Feedback on citizens not benefiting from rubies
Dear Editor,
The question should rather be is Malawi benefiting from the rubies from Chimwadzulu Mine in Ntcheu?
Here is a mine which has been active for the past 50 years yet no tangible records can be traced as to what has been happening a part from the story of sending samples outside for analysis.
Rubies just like diamonds are one of the most expensive precious stones and very rare! Just for your information a gramme of a ruby can fetch up to $50 000 and a five gramme piece of gem quality ruby can fetch up to $1 000 000 on the international market – this should explain to you why the people of Ntcheu and the country are/can be cheated…imagine how a five gramme piece can easily be smuggled outside the country. The local miners will tell you that the operator/company is getting good rubies while the company will tell you that they are yet to start getting rubies, in short this mine is only benefiting the owners not Malawians.
The only way the people and government will ever benefit is to leave the mine in the hands of the locals and after all its not that sophisticated to mine rubies. the department of mines should facilitate the selling of these rubies by the way of auction just like deamonds are sold, this way it will be a win-win situation for the local people, small-scale miners and the government. Rubies at the auction will get the best market value than selling them to foreigners.
Finally, it must be understood that a very good ruby mine should have been handled the way a diamond mine would! At times rubies are even more expensive than diamonds.
Percy Chikumbuso Maleta
Dear Editor,
Your article is very interesting, Malawians will not benefit because there is no proper transperancy by the licence holder.
Please research why since 1958 the area is lost.
Government should give the people of this area the right to mine the whole section so that people of this area can benefit.
Mining licences should be given to any open bidders or auctioned worldwide to bidders or Malawian investors, and only if they could show that it will benefit Malawians from this area and the country.
You will be shocked to know that nothing has come out from the mine. Where has the money gone? How much money has been gained in royalty and tax, etc?
Senior citizen
Alfred Raman
