Zomba gold lures thousands

When the sun rises over Nsomba Village, Traditional Authority Malemia in Zomba District, Fatsani Kasonga’s team starts digging for gold along the Nambata stream.

For four months, hundreds of people have swarmed the area in search of fortune.

“Life was difficult, but gold panning has helped me repair my vehicle and meet my family’s needs,” says Kasonga, 30, watching men digging out gold-rich soils nearby.

As men dig deeper, women and children fetch water for separating gold from silt. A bucketful of water sells at K10 000 on the riverbank that buzzes with miners, buyers, intermediaries and traders scrambling for a share of money changing hands.

According to mining authorities, the discovery of gold deposits has attracted over 5 000 people from as far as Karonga, about 1 000 kilometres of North of Zomba.

The once-quiet rural area now operates around the clock.

“Some people find gold worth over K1 million in a day, which promises better earnings than falling catches in Lake Malawi,” says Blessings Mbewe, 30.

He abandoned his fishing nets in Mangochi after hearing about people hitting gold in Zomba.

Some gold diggers spend days without finding a fraction. Buyers offer about K450 000 per gram.

The influx has given rise to makeshift shops, restaurants, drinking joints and huts where entrepreneurs cash in day and night.

“Some young people have stopped going to school and families are breaking down due to the gold rush. Money is good, but what lies ahead?” asks village head Nsomba.

In an interview, village head Nsauka bemoaned worsening environmental degradation, sanitation and a risky sex web.

“However, poor hygiene is a major problem, as many people defaecate in open spaces due to a lack of toilets. This fuels the risk of preventable diseases, especially cholera,” he says.

Nsauka lamented sexual exploitation against women and girls in the neighbourhood.

The gold rush has also sparked land disputes between locals and incoming buyers.

“The buyers and their middlemen purchase crop fields cheaply hoping to find gold, but demand their dues after digging in vain,” he says.

The community leaders asked authorities to restore order in unregulated mining sites.

Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) spokesperson Selah Singini says investigations in the illegal gold mining hotspots of Zomba District revealed several irregularities that necessitated mass awareness campaigns.

She says the nationwide challenge requires collaboration among government institutions, law enforcement agencies, traditional leaders and local communities.

Singini said MMRA promotes the formation of cooperatives to formalise artisanal mining.

Recently, Operation Samala Mgodi by he Malawi Defence Force in partnership with other government ministries, departments and agencies led to the arrest of 400 people, including two Chinese illegal miners, in seven districts.

“All mining activities must be licensed by MMRA and comply with legal, environmental and safety regulations,” says Singini, cwho also ondemned child labour for denying children the right to education and exposing them to dangerous working conditions.

Ministry of Mining spokesperson Tiyanjane Mambucha says a joint inspection by soldiers, the police, regulators and Zomba District Council revealed rampant mining without licences, unsustainable excavations, poor sanitation and environmental damage along Nambata.

“Mining activities must comply with the law and protect vulnerable groups, including children and women,” she says.

Community leaders call for geological assessments and licensing of small-scale miners for locals to get a share of the area’s mineral wealth.

Meanwhile, the search for instant wealth continues to pull crowds desperate to hit gold.

According to the World Bank, four in five people in the country live below the global poverty line of $3 (about K5 100) per day.

The sound of picks gorging the ground echoes across Nambata riverbank beyond sunset.

Throughout, Kasonga and her team dig with undying hope that the toil could change their lives.

“Those who dig  in the sun and fading daylight do not stop dreaming of a day that would transform their lives,” she says.

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