Govt, MJ concerned citizens agree to plant trees first

Government and a group of Citizens for the Protection of Mulanje Mountain (CPM) say they have made progress in reconciling their differences on the Blantyre Water Board (BWB) K17.1 billion project to tap water from Mulanje Mountain.

During a second meeting between the two parties at Likhubula, Mulanje on Thursday, CPM retaliated that all it wants is reforestation of Mulanje Mountain to be the first component in the water project, to which government advised the members to be ready for the commencement of the tree-planting exercise.

President Peter Mutharika’s special adviser on civil society and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Mavuto Bamusi, speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, said the demand to plant trees in the mountain is reasonable and that the matter is of mutual interest to both parties as it is also government’s wish to see Mulanje Mountain regain its green cover.

“Government, too, is keen and interested to see to it that Mulanje Mountain is redressed with trees so there is no issue at all on that particular point,” he said.

In an interview after the meeting, CPM secretary general David Majeweta said community members are ready to start planting the trees as soon as government says so.

Majeweta said CPM’s actions should not be deemed as standing in the way of the project that will also benefit community members through job opportunities that will be created as well as the water BWB has promised to provide them.

The meetings government is having with CPM follow an ambush on Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda, BWB officials and others during their planned visit to the intake on the mountain on August 29.

The citizens demanded that Mulanje Mountain be reforested with 3 500 hectares of pine and that they should also be beneficiaries of the water that BWB will tap from the mountain. n