"Open Letter to Pres. Peter Mutharika on Lake Malawi oil exploration"

...[T]he proposal to explore and exploit the possible mineral wealth on the lake has been advanced against the following shameful background...Malawi has no explicit national oil exploration and development policy that guarantees the positions, interests and rights of indigenous Malawians with respect to oil resources...Malawi has no comprehensive legal and regulatory framework to govern the performance of the oil exploration and development industry and no functional industry-specific institutional framework and an impartial regulatory body to ensure that industry operations will be conducted in accordance with regulations, standards, guidelines and the best industry practices with due regard for the safety of persons and property, protection of the environment and conservation...Although oil exploration and exploitation have a potential to create cataclysmic environmental impact there has been no impetus to develop industry-specific EIA guidelines, environmental assessment requirements with clear legislative mandate and provisions vested in law, and specific and enforceable compliance requirements...The value of the lake (in its pristine state) to stakeholders whose entire livelihoods depend on it (such as the people of the twin islands of Likoma and Chidzumulu) or stakeholders who depend on the Shire River for their entire drinking water-requirements far exceeds the value of the oil that can be mined from the lake.