Lake Nyasa. Photograph by Karim Logue.
President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania has
insisted
that war with Malawi is not a feasible outcome of ongoing disputes
between the two countries over the ownership of the lake which borders
the two countries.
Lake Nyasa, known as
Lake Malawi by Malawians, has been the source of disagreements since colonial times, which were
rekindled
recently when Malawi allowed gas and oil exploration to begin around
the lake’s border. Rhetoric has escalated over the past few months
although it seems both sides are now attempting to calm tensions.
A history of disputes
Located
at the junction of Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, Lake Nyasa – the
eighth largest in the world – contains an estimated 168,000 tonnes of
fish of nearly 1000 species, and is able to provide sustenance for
nearly 600,000 people.
In the early 1960s, Malawi’s first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda,
claimed that Lake Nyasa was part of Malawi referring to 1890
Heligoland
Agreement between Britain and Germany which stipulated that the border
between the countries lay along the Tanzanian side of the lake. This
treaty was reaffirmed at the 1963 Organisation of African Unity summit
where it was accepted reluctantly by Tanzania although disputes
reignited in 1967-8.
Malawi also alleges that the 2002 and 2007 African Union resolutions upheld the colonial agreement because of the
emphasis on member states
upholding the borders inherited upon independence.
Some,
however, argue that it is necessary to correct the errors of the
colonial powers, and Tanzania has sought recourse to international law,
which
indicates that borders are generally in the middle of a body of water,
claiming Tanzania should therefore own half the lake.
Oil and the re-emergence of the issue
The
resurgence of the dispute began in October when Malawi’s former
president, Bingu wa Mutharika, awarded a contract to British
Surestream Petroleum
to start gas and oil exploration on the eastern part of the lake. Since
then, a number of disagreements over the use of the lake have arisen.
At the close of July, Tanzania announced plans to purchase a new $9 million
ferry to cross Lake Nyasa’s waters. Malawi’s Ministry of Lands
responded by
claiming that Tanzania has no legal right to start operating on Lake
Malawi since the ownership and border dispute remains unresolved.
For
their part, Tanzanian authorities argued that Malawian fishing and
tourist boats were encroaching on Tanzania’s waters. Hilda Ngoye, MP for
the Mbeya region, alleged that Malawi has been conducting tourism
activities beyond its territorial waters,
escalating tension further.
Earlier
this month, a two-day meeting was held with the aim of reviving stalled
negotiations on the delineation of the lake’s boundaries. Tanzania’s
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Bernard Membe,
requested that the exploration activities be
shelved until discussions had been fully resolved,
saying
“any exploration or research activities for oil and gas prospects must
stop forthwith as their presence was likely to jeopardise the ongoing
negotiations and pose a security threat".
Tanzania’s Attorney General, Frederick Werema, has added that Tanzania will
seek international intervention if diplomatic negotiations do not produce results.
Malawi’s Minister of Energy and Mining, Cassim Chilumpha, has, however,
countered that Malawi is justified to start exploration since the lake lies within the borders stipulated by the Heligoland treaty.
Overblown fears?
Amidst
these legal claims and disagreements, some representatives have also
sought recourse to more potentially inflammatory language. Edward
Lowassa, Chair of Tanzania’s Parliamentary Committee for Defence,
Security and Foreign Affairs, for example
told reporters that the country is ready to wage war against Malawi if necessary.
“We
expect this conflict will be solved diplomatically… Malawi is our
neighbour and therefore we would not like to go into war with it”, he
said, continuing, “however, if it reaches the war stage then we are
ready to sacrifice our people’s blood and our military forces are
committed in equipment and psychologically.”
Both countries have
increasingly backed away from such harsh statements, however, and
Malawi’s Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Uladi Mussa,
told a local radio that Malawians have nothing to fear,
reassuring listeners that “issues of boundaries between Malawi and Tanzania are amicably being resolved”.
Malawi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ephraim Mganda Chiume, also played down the conflict,
calling
it simply a misinterpretation. “As Malawi we are not calling it a
conflict or dispute rather a misunderstanding and at this point we are
going to sort it out ourselves without the inventions of other bodies.”
Drawing a line under the dispute
According
to Simburashe Mungoshi, a historian and political analyst with the
University of Malawi, the dispute can be resolved only if the two
countries take a leaf from how their colonisers Britain and Germany
dealt with the boundary issue.
“When these boundaries were agreed
upon by the British and Germans it was a give and take game” he
explained to Think Africa Press. “The British had to give up claims in
some territories in the Tanganyika area. Needless to say the Germans
also had to give up [some claims]. If Tanzania wants a change in
boundaries, it would be a give and take. Malawi is a land-locked
country; we need access to the sea. Maybe they could give us an
equivalent piece of land to take us to the sea.”
As discussions
continue, however, life goes on, and Tanzanians and Malawians continue
to cross the border, selling and buying products that will ensure their
livelihoods.
Kyela District Commissioner Margaret Ester Malenga has
emphasised the atmosphere of mutual dependence between citizens of the two countries, something she believes war would ruin.
Representatives
of the two countries are currently engaging in discussions in Mzuzu,
Malawi, as part of a five-day summit ending on August 25 to resolve the
border issue once and for all.