MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Police in Chitipa have impounded a truck full of gemstones belonging to a Chinese Firm that is mining the precious stones at Mbilima Village, Traditional Authority Maulambya in the district.
Reports indicate that residents around the site where the Chinese Firm is, blocked a road denying the driver of the truck access on the basis that the company has not fulfilled corporate social obligations it promised to the people.
According to Chitipa Police Officer-in-Charge, Assistant Commissioner Aubrey Kawale, at the weekend, the residents of the community saw the truck fully loaded with minerals leaving the site; and this did not amuse them.
No sooner had the community blocked the road than the police came in to intervene. It was at this point that the police made a decision to impound the vehicle until a mutual resolution is made.
Commenting on the development, Cossam Munthali of Natural Resources Justice Network, working in the district, said there is need for community members to exercise their rights by claiming what legitimately belongs to them.
Meanwhile, Members of Parliment in Dowa District, have agreed not to allow Bauxite Africa, another Mining Firm to embark on any activities of this nature until it fulfills its corporate social responsibilities.
