BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-A joint parliamentary committee investigating delays in the approval of the proposed Napoleon Dzombe’s Mulalo Granular Fertiliser Production Factory in Dowa on Wednesday July 15,2026 heard that the project has now cleared the environmental approval process and is expected to receive its environmental certificate by July 22, 2026, paving the way for the long-delayed investment to proceed.
The inquiry, led by the Parliamentary Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Climate Change, Industry, Trade and Tourism,and Agriculture and Irrigation, brought together officials from Mtalimanja Holdings, Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA), Ministry of Natural Resources, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) consultants and other regulatory institutions to determine the causes of the prolonged licensing process.
Appearing before the committee, Dzombe who is also the Director of Mtalimanja Holdings criticised Malawi’s investment environment, saying lengthy bureaucratic procedures and high regulatory costs discourage local investors.
He said the Mulalo fertiliser plant was conceived to improve fertiliser availability and affordability in the country but administrative delays had frustrated the project and discouraged some potential investors and partners.
Dzombe said he questioned the requirement to pay K10 million in environmental processing fees because he viewed the project as one of national importance.
He admitted delaying payment of the fee for several months, saying he was comparing Malawi’s investment conditions with incentives offered by neighbouring Mozambique, where he claimed investors are offered tax holidays and free land.
He also said the prolonged approval process had left him reluctant to make further investments after previously losing more than K500 million on a failed international bus terminal project.
The investor told lawmakers that losing the original title deed should not affect ownership of the 26-hectare project site because the land was surveyed in 1971 and the title deed issued in 1979 before it was misplaced.
He expressed surprise that land documentation had become one of the issues delaying the project, arguing that ownership had already been established.
Dzombe said the licensing delays had prevented the factory from starting fertiliser production as planned this year.
While awaiting government approval, he said he had partnered with farmers in his home area to import affordable fertiliser from abroad to ensure supplies for the current farming season.
Responding to the committee, MEPA Director General Wilfred Kadewa said the authority had completed all stages of the environmental approval process after the developer addressed outstanding technical concerns.
He said the MEPA board approved the project on 14 July, leaving only the issuance of the environmental certificate.
Kadewa explained that the project had initially failed to meet several environmental and safety requirements.
He said among the concerns were hazardous waste management, risks associated with corrosive and toxic chemicals used in phosphorus extraction, management of phosphogypsum waste, the factory’s proximity to the Kang’ona River, emergency preparedness measures, air emissions, wastewater treatment and incomplete land ownership documentation.
He told lawmakers that although the developer submitted the licence application on 24 March 2025, the process stalled for about nine months after the revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report was not resubmitted on time and the required K10 million processing fee remained unpaid.
He added that these delays were outside MEPA’s control.
Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Natural Resources Misheck Munthali acknowledged that the company had begun some construction works before obtaining the required environmental approval, contrary to the Environmental Management Act.
However, he said authorities chose not to halt the project because of its significant public interest and national economic importance, opting instead to ensure the outstanding regulatory requirements were addressed.
Munthali stressed that the approval process had been guided solely by legal and environmental requirements rather than political considerations.
He confirmed that following the MEPA board’s approval, the Mulalo fertiliser project is expected to receive its environmental certificate by July 22, 2026, allowing the investor to proceed with the remaining phases of the project while complying with all regulatory conditions.
