PAC wants charcoal selling banned

Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has urged Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change to abolish charcoal business along the M1 and other parts of the country to preserve the environment for socioeconomic development.

PAC chairperson Shadric Namalomba made the remarks when officials from the ministry appeared before the committee to answer audit queries on how proceeds from pine trees totalling K36 million were abused by some ministry officials in the 2019/20 financial year.

He expressed concern with the depletion of trees largely due to charcoal business which is creating overlapping problems in the economy.

Said Namalomba: “They have told the committee that they have a vacancy rate of 50 percent and they don’t have funding to enforce the law. But the deforestation is huge and [when] you wander along the M1 Road you have bags and bags of charcoal, even close to roadblocks.

“Is this a ministry that can give hope to Malawians?”

According to the 2018 Housing and Population Census, only three percent of Malawi population uses liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for heating.

The majority—over 90 percent—use charcoal and firewood, which are wiping out forests.

Reacting to Namalomba’s sentiments in an interview, Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change Principal Secretary Yanira Ntupanyama said they have in the past cleared charcoal along the roads, but their officers are usually faced with challenges.

She said officers have in some cases been injured or killed by those in the charcoal business, adding that angry people in Dzalanyama even threw stones at a minister’s vehicle.

“The main issue is that we need to find alternative energy sources,” said Ntupanyama. 

The Forestry Act of 1997 says individuals and organisations seeking to apply for a charcoal licence must provide documented evidence that the charcoal will be produced at a sustainably managed forest.