By Burnett Munthali
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change has blamed the developer of the proposed Mulalo Granular Fertiliser Production Factory for delaying environmental approval by failing to submit a revised Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report for about nine months.
Minister Patricia Wiskesi told Parliament on Thursday that the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority complied with the Environmental Management Act and could not legally continue reviewing the project without the revised ESIA report.
She said MEPA’s preliminary review identified inadequate hazardous waste and wastewater management, weak occupational safety measures, insufficient stakeholder consultations, project design deficiencies and incomplete land ownership documentation that required correction.
Wiskesi said records show the developer failed to submit the revised ESIA report between July 2025 and March 2026, stalling the approval process until the outstanding issues and prescribed assessment fees were addressed.
Her statement comes as Parliament investigates the project through an ad hoc committee, with Wiskesi pledging full cooperation and insisting environmental clearance is a legal and technical process rather than a political decision.
