MALAWI: Going to war with Tanzania would be foolish

Cicero said:
Mkuu ukifuatilia vizuri huo mgogoro; nchi zote mbili ziko sahihi.
Historically, going by the treaties za wazungu walivoigawa Afrika, ziwa lote liko Malawi.
Lakini going by the custom in international law, Tanzania iko sahihi mpaka unatakiwa upite katikati. Sasa hapo tufanyeje?
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We take the best option, current status

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My dear Malawians we are not your friend in anyway.. we can give you everything you need but not that what you claim is for Malawi to loose. The same allegations you noted hold for Tanzanian as well. Most of our citizens along the shore from Ruvuma to Mbeya depends on it not just for economic purposes but for recreational purposes too. Taking the lake means taking life of our people. We are here to protect the life of our citizens and we will by any means necessary ...keep watching.
 
How can you Malawians take the matter to ICJ while you know that Tanzania is not a member to that International body? Your options are landlocked just like your Country!

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there is some sense in your article. its my belief your leaders will take this into consideration. i would just like to tell you "do not wake the sleeping beast" just let it lie down in peace then take what you can and leave. waking it up so that you would take some part under it will be a great tragedy. we have been living like brothers and sister for quite sometime. but i am definitely sure if you start any query we will react and forget our brotherhood as we know we are supposed to protect our people. just remember all those years and then re think your claims and any brutal action you would like to undergo before considering our reaction. "coz in every little action, there is reaction"

Cicero said:
Malawi needs to be proactive and not just reactive on the Lake Malawi boundary wrangle with its north-eastern neighbour, Tanzania. But while I am on this, let me warn that resorting to wresting the part of the lake Tanzania claims is its territory will only worsen the matter. To be brutally frank, and without underrating our military prowess, Malawi will be the bigger casualty in any military undertaking with Tanzania. Tanzania, geographically bigger than Malawi—is no match for us military-wise.

To begin with, we need the lake more than Tanzania needs the part they are claiming to belong to them. Unlike Tanzania, which also has lakes Victoria and Tanganyika and a long seashore on the Indian Ocean, Lake Malawi is our only biggest water resource body spanning all the three regions. As a result its economic importance to Malawi cannot be overstated.

We need the lake for transport purposes—which to say the least—we have underutilised. The lake’s fish resources are an economic lifeline for 90 percent of the people along the lakeshore who subsist as fishermen. Take away the lake and see what would become of people in Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Likoma and Chizumulo, part of Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Salima, Mangochi. In short, the lake is actually synonymous with their livelihood.

At national level, Lake Malawi is the main source of water for the Shire River, which is again the source of 90 percent of our hydro-electricity from Nkula, Tedzani and Kapichira hydro-power stations.

Agriculturally, Illovo and Dwangwa Sugar company—probably the country’s biggest employers—depend on water bodies from the Shire and Lake Malawi, respectively. And if we had visionary leaders, they would long have transformed lakeshore districts into breadbaskets for the entire country producing rice, maize and cassava.

Blantyre Water Board’s main source of water—Walker’s Ferry—is the Shire River (whose main source of water is Lake Malawi), meaning that the whole Blantyre city and parts of Chiradzulu and Thyolo are serviced by the Shire River.

As a tourist destination—which again I must state we have grossly underdeveloped—Lake Malawi’s importance cannot be overstated, contributing a good percentage to the tourism’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In short, Lake Malawi’s importance should not be something any caring government should only talk about when there are no elections in the country. In Tumbuka we would have said navyose vyamthengere.

If truth be told, since 2014 the DPP-led government has been in a power-drunken stupor on this important issue and is only being awakened now that Tanzania has published maps showing part of the eastern part of the lake as belonging to them.

Going to war with Tanzania over the lake would be foolhardy (Uchindere wakufikapo). They have both the military and economic might to annihilate us within a short period of time.

With the issues I have outlined above, not even the elections should have stopped us from getting the mediators to continue the talks. Why should everything else come to a standstill when there are elections? After all, it has been two years and six months since Malawi held its elections and one year since Tanzania went to the polls.

The problem on the part of Malawi is the ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ mentality. It is naïvity at its worst that the Malawi government only wants to do something when Tanzanians are on the offensive. That is not the way to go. Government should quickly get this issue to a logical conclusion.

It is a well-known fact that Tanzania wants half of the eastern part of the lake because of the oil exploration activities underway in the lake. And it is unlikely that the Sadc mediators—led by Mozambique former president Joachim Chissano—will side with Malawi on the issue, the Anglo-Heligoland Treaty notwithstanding. That is why it is important for Malawi to be proactive and take the issue to the International Court of Justice. That part of the lake is for Malawi to lose.
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GuDume said:
there is some sense in your article. its my belief your leaders will take this into consideration. i would just like to tell you "do not wake the sleeping beast" just let it lie down in peace then take what you can and leave. waking it up so that you would take some part under it will be a great tragedy. we have been living like brothers and sister for quite sometime. but i am definitely sure if you start any query we will react and forget our brotherhood as we know we are supposed to protect our people. just remember all those years and then re think your claims and any brutal action you would like to undergo before considering our reaction. "coz in every little action, there is reaction"
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My leader is JPM.
What is this Tanzanians referring to ourselves as "BEASTS"......hahahaa......Tanzania is an ANT.....no microscopic bacteria in this world. We have absolutely no impact on the world's economy!
 
Lake Nyasa/Malawi has been there before the Colonialists it is surprising that full grown Africans are referring to Colonialists treaty/agreement over something which has been there before the white people set his foot in Africa.
There are millions of cubic metres of water still Africans are in conflict as if lake nyasa is a pond that cannot satisfies Tanzanians and the Malawians.
Inferiority complex is our worst enemy in Africa.
 
Cicero said:
Malawi needs to be proactive and not just reactive on the Lake Malawi boundary wrangle with its north-eastern neighbour, Tanzania. But while I am on this, let me warn that resorting to wresting the part of the lake Tanzania claims is its territory will only worsen the matter. To be brutally frank, and without underrating our military prowess, Malawi will be the bigger casualty in any military undertaking with Tanzania. Tanzania, geographically bigger than Malawi—is no match for us military-wise.

To begin with, we need the lake more than Tanzania needs the part they are claiming to belong to them. Unlike Tanzania, which also has lakes Victoria and Tanganyika and a long seashore on the Indian Ocean, Lake Malawi is our only biggest water resource body spanning all the three regions. As a result its economic importance to Malawi cannot be overstated.

We need the lake for transport purposes—which to say the least—we have underutilised. The lake’s fish resources are an economic lifeline for 90 percent of the people along the lakeshore who subsist as fishermen. Take away the lake and see what would become of people in Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Likoma and Chizumulo, part of Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Salima, Mangochi. In short, the lake is actually synonymous with their livelihood.

At national level, Lake Malawi is the main source of water for the Shire River, which is again the source of 90 percent of our hydro-electricity from Nkula, Tedzani and Kapichira hydro-power stations.

Agriculturally, Illovo and Dwangwa Sugar company—probably the country’s biggest employers—depend on water bodies from the Shire and Lake Malawi, respectively. And if we had visionary leaders, they would long have transformed lakeshore districts into breadbaskets for the entire country producing rice, maize and cassava.

Blantyre Water Board’s main source of water—Walker’s Ferry—is the Shire River (whose main source of water is Lake Malawi), meaning that the whole Blantyre city and parts of Chiradzulu and Thyolo are serviced by the Shire River.

As a tourist destination—which again I must state we have grossly underdeveloped—Lake Malawi’s importance cannot be overstated, contributing a good percentage to the tourism’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In short, Lake Malawi’s importance should not be something any caring government should only talk about when there are no elections in the country. In Tumbuka we would have said navyose vyamthengere.

If truth be told, since 2014 the DPP-led government has been in a power-drunken stupor on this important issue and is only being awakened now that Tanzania has published maps showing part of the eastern part of the lake as belonging to them.

Going to war with Tanzania over the lake would be foolhardy (Uchindere wakufikapo). They have both the military and economic might to annihilate us within a short period of time.

With the issues I have outlined above, not even the elections should have stopped us from getting the mediators to continue the talks. Why should everything else come to a standstill when there are elections? After all, it has been two years and six months since Malawi held its elections and one year since Tanzania went to the polls.

The problem on the part of Malawi is the ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ mentality. It is naïvity at its worst that the Malawi government only wants to do something when Tanzanians are on the offensive. That is not the way to go. Government should quickly get this issue to a logical conclusion.

It is a well-known fact that Tanzania wants half of the eastern part of the lake because of the oil exploration activities underway in the lake. And it is unlikely that the Sadc mediators—led by Mozambique former president Joachim Chissano—will side with Malawi on the issue, the Anglo-Heligoland Treaty notwithstanding. That is why it is important for Malawi to be proactive and take the issue to the International Court of Justice. That part of the lake is for Malawi to lose.
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To add more, people from Malawi and Tanzania part of the lake are from the same tribes i.e Ngoni, Yao etc. So, if the war will be started by any part they will be killing each other of their relatives!!!!
 
tryphone005 said:
Why is there war when people with intellect allows fact and truth to discern? I dont see a need for war,
IT IS REQUIRED ONLY WHEN ONE PART WANTS TO SHOVE AWAY TRUTH AND ACT UNREASONABLY,
PAPERS OF HISTORICAL RECORDS ARE THERE LET THEM SPEAK, AND WHOEVER WILL DISAGREE WJTH THEM WILL BE SEVERELY TFEATED MILLITARLILY! MARK MY WORDS,
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well
 
Malawi kama wanaona sie tuna Maziwa,Mito na Ukanda wa Bahari ni bora waombe kujiunga nasi tuwe United States Wakawaulize Zanzibar walivotutamani tukawakubalia... sisi ni Waungwana ila wakileta zao Tutawageuza Koloni letu
 
Jamaa_Mbishi said:
:argest part of lake Malawi (Nyassa for TZ) belongs to Malawi, but the lake belongs to three countries (Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique), period.
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You are right bro. We should proceed through the spirit of cooperation and understanding. We are one people, looking for same things and we are all related. So, let's us work together for win win situation. Lets leave colonialists ideas behind us, and come up with ideas which will help all our people in all of our countries.
 
charles177 said:
You are right bro. We should proceed through the spirit of cooperation and understanding. We are one people, looking for same things and we are all related. So, let's us work together for win win situation. Lets leave colonialists ideas behind us, and come up with ideas which will help all our people in all of our countries.
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Well said, however, do our leaders even think of this possibility?
 
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