The  Mini s try o f L a n d s and Na t u r a l Resources has e n g a g e d t h e government of Malawi over the re-demarcation of land boundaries that have overlapped in the two countries. The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Trevor Kaunda, said the two countries have started registration of the nation’s borders under an African Union (AU) programme.

Mr Kaunda said in an interview yesterday in the wake of a story carried recently in the Nyasa Times of Malawi where it reported that some parts of Malawi have been declared to be part of Zambia. This predicament has found Malawians living in Zambia after a border re-demarcation exercise. “ A f t e r t h e l i b e r a t ion struggles, it was agreed that [African] countries that gained independence shall maintain existing boundaries during the colonial times but later, the Organisation of African Unity [Afrian Union now] embarked on a re-affirmation of international boundaries,” Mr Kaunda said. He s a i d Z a m b i a h a s been working with its eight neighbouring countries like Malawi in the re-affirmation of boundaries.

“We have a draft treaty between the two countries and once complete, we will come up with a give-and-take [scenario on how the land will be demarcated],” he said. Mr Kaunda said the costly exercise, which involves putting beckons on the shared land, is likely to be concluded next year. Meanwhile, Malawi’s Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Jean Kalilani, said parts of Mchinji, Mzimba, Kasungu and Rumphi now belong to Zambia.

According to the Nyasa Times of Malawi, Ms Kalilani revealed this when she presented a ministerial statement to that country’s Parliament. She said the physical demarcation of border lines started on a pilot basis in 1993 and boundary inspections have been carried out since then. M s K a l i l a n i a d v i s e d Malawians residing in the affected areas against changing their nationalities from Malawi to Zambia. The minister said the two governments agreed that until a new border treaty comes into effect, local people will remain where they were before the demarcation. Ms Kalilani said the Zambian and Malawi governments have put in place a strategy to meet regularly and resolve any emerging issues while