The Malawi government has formally given exclusive rights to Raiply Malawi Limited to manage the 20,000-hectare concession area in the Viphya Plantation at Chikangawa in Mzimba district saying the new arrangement is cost saving and ensures that it gets more revenue. The development means the foreign-owned company has relived the Malawi government of maintenance and […]
Raiply Malawi Limited Chikangawa Plantation Manager , Nathaniel Nthala has warned that economic gains government is benefiting from the company will drastically diminish if plunder of forests resources continues to be rendered a blind eye. Nthala made the warning Tuesday during a ceremony his company was donating desks to Kasangazi Primary School in the area […]
Members of the Reformed Timber Millers Union (RTMU) on Thursday conducted peaceful protests in Viphya Plantation in Chikangawa, Mzimba district after failed discussions with government over timber business. Timber Millers members marched from Gwayi to Chikangawa Forestry Department offices, where they are saying they will hold vigils. They are asking government to allocate them some hectares […]
Government said it has replenished 2, 300 hectares of Chikangawa forest with trees with the help of interested stakeholders. Spokesperson for the forestry department Sangwani Phiri said the replanting of the trees in such a vast area follows devastating fires which destroyed the forest. “We have water barriers to control fires, we have experts on […]
Illegal timber sawyers in Viphya plantation popularly known as Chikangawa Forest are suspected to have poisoned Raiply Malawi Limited’s tree seedlings worth K40 million. Raiply Malawi Limited’s Forestry Manager, Nathaniel Nthala said in an interview that the destroyed seedlings at Champhoyo Nursery garden, within the forest, would cover 84 hectares of land. “On 4th January […]
President Peter Mutharika has blamed the current state of Chikangawa Forest on policies by previous governments but has said his own is working tooth and nail to reforest so that it regains its former glory. Chikangawa Forest, located in Mzimba District, is home to a 53 500 hectare area once touted as one of Africa’s […]
Soldiers from Malawi Defense Force have advised the government to close Chikangawa forest for four years in order to bring back depleted trees in the biggest man made forest in southern Africa. Stanley Saidi, commandant officer for Moyale Barracks said the trees and size of the forest continue to dwindle because of illegal logging. “The […]
The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in the Livingstonia Synod has blamed government on the continued plunder of the country’s forests, arguing authorities concerned have failed to put in place “clear strategies.” The Synod’s general secretary, Levi Nyondo, said last Saturday during the inauguration of a tree planting campaign the church undertakes every year […]
Malawi’s forest firefighters are battling raging fires at Chikangawa which has reduced the southern Africa’s biggest man made forest into a small tree plantation. Spokesperson for the department of Natural Resources Sangwani Phiri said government officials are on ground to quantiufy the damage. Chikangawa Forest cuts through Mzimba and Nkhata Bay diustricts. Phiri said the […]
Youth and Society (YAS) executive director Charles Kajoloweka has revealed a lot of foul play is taking place at the Viphya Plantation (Chikangawa Forest) – shared between the districts of Nkhata Bay and Mzimba – involving the illegal sale of trees, and has since called for an ‘audit’ into the dealings at the plantation so […]
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) boss Ralph Kamoto has suspended commissioner for exports Shadrec Namalomba for facilitating to clear nine trucks of round wood from Chikangawa meant for export. The trucks that Namalomba cleared reportedly belong to ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Noel Masangwi. According to an MRA staff circular number 28 dated February 20 […]
Newly crowned Miss Mzuni 2014 Atupele Singano says she will spend more of her time helping out on the Chikangawa Forest crisis other than charity, arguing that it is time local models began to think out of the ordinary in order to contribute to the country’s headway progress. Atupele, who won the Miss Mzuzu University […]
Some itinerant licensed loggers have started encroaching into the 20,000 hectares forestry plantation which Raiply owns under an exclusive 15 year concessionary agreement after almost depleting the estimated other 33,000 hectares held for Malawian loggers for sustainable harvesting. The Viphya’s 53-501 hectare man-made plantation, the once largest in Southern Africa, which began in the 1950s […]
Malawi Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jennifer Chilunga has turned downed an invitation from Youths to officially open a week they have dedicated to remind government of the disastrous consequences Malawi will encounter if the current practices in the 55,000 hectare Chikangawa forest plantation go unchecked. While 20,000 hectares of the 55 000 hectares forest is now […]
Malawi’s youth have asked President Joyce Banda to immediately suspend the disbursement of funds under Youth Entrepreneurial Development Fund (Yedef) saying it has been highly politicised and only benefitted youths that belonged to former ruling party DPP. Malawi government committed MK3 billion into the fund, which has been grossly abused since inception. For instance, Police in the […]