Malawi President to visit Tanzania with 'border dispute' agenda?

By Our Correspondent, BLANTYRE Malawi

President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi is expected to pay a three-day state visit to neighbouring Tanzania on Wednesday October 7 after a one-day visit to Mozambique where he met President Filipe Nyusi.

This is his fourth state visit after Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The President, just like during his other trips to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique has not disclosed the agenda of his meeting with President John Magufuli of Tanzania though regional analysists think the border dispute might surface in their meeting.

The border dispute over Lake Nyasa between the two countries has been there for a long time but resurfaced in 2012 when Malawi awarded exclusive oil prospecting licenses in Lake Nyasa to two British oil companies.

Malawi has linked the dispute to possible oil and gas reserves in the lake and claims ownership based on the 1890 Heligoland agreement.

Malawi claims to own the whole lake in its entirety. On the other hand, Tanzania claims that the boundary is the median line of the lake based on principles of customary international law.

Lake Nyasa is home to 1,000 species of fish. It is located at the crossroads of Malawi in the west, Mozambique to the south and Tanzania to its northeast.

A fisherman prepares his boat on Lake Malawi about 100 kilometres east of the capital Lilongwe

With an estimated fish stock of 168,000 tonnes, Lake Nyasa is a source of livelihood for nearly 10 million people.

The dispute is no small matter for Malawi as the lake’s geographical space represents about a third of its entire territory. Malawi argues that its economic life, culture, folklore, and sentiment as a nation are inextricably linked to the lake.