The Malawi government has adopted a new mines and minerals policy aimed at enhanc- ing the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product and aiding the economy’s transition from being agro-based to being minerals based

“Government realises that the economy has a structural problem that results in a per- petual imbalance between the supply of and demand for foreign exchange. This originates from the fact that the country heavily relies on agriculture, which is prone to climate-related challenges. Moreover, sales from our main cash crop, tobacco, are under threat from the global antismoking lobby,” says Mines Minister John Bande.

The Minister explains government will ensure that adequate geological data and infor- mation on the mineral deposits in Malawi are made available to investors wishing to undertake mineral prospecting in the country.

“’Government will provide sufficient finan- cial resources to generate, collect and dissem- inate basic geological information, which could speed up mineral exploration,” says Bande.

Already the government, with funding from the World Bank, is pursuing an airborne geo- physical survey of Malawi, which will be fol-lowed by a remapping exercise to be financed by the French government.

In line with the new policy, the Malawi government has decided to invest in labor-atory technologies and to build capacity for mineral sample analysis, which is currently conducted outside the country.

He also says the Malawi government will facilitate the establishment of training and research institutions.

“Government will ensure that the curricula of institutions of higher learning in the country include the capacity needs of the minerals sector, and will also encourage training and research and development institutions to collaborate with the mining sector to ensure that their research is relevant to the sector,” says Bande.

As part of the new policy, the Malawi government will develop a viable and transparent fiscal and taxation regime that attracts investors to the sector and ensures a substantial amount of revenue is retained in Malawi.

He says: “The key to developing and realis-ing sustainable economic benefits from the minerals sector partly depends on creating a favourable investment climate, including long-term political and macroeconomic stability, with a sound and flexible fiscal and taxation regime and competitive royalty levels.”