Malawi, Tanzania lake wrangle talks stall

Malawi and Tanzania talks over the dispute of Lake Malawi have stalled for two years now as the two border countries awaits the mediation team headed by Mozambique former president Joachim Chissano to set the date.

Spokesperson for the ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Rejoice Chaponda Shumba said the two countries are just waiting for the mediation team to set the date for the talks.

“We are all ready. What we are waiting for is for the retired former heads of state who are heading the talks to set the date. After that, we will go for the talks,” said Shumba.

Last year, Malawi and Tanzania led by their respective presidents failed to agree and Malawi decided to take up the matter to the International Court of Justice.

Lilongwe says the whole Lake Malawi belongs to Malawi whilst Dodoma claims part of the lake and the dispute nearly came out of hand in 2013 when Tanzania stationed its marine on the lake and chased away Malawian fishermen.

The issue came to light after the discovery of oil in the lake.