As one way to enforce the Environment Management Act of 2017, Lilongwe City Council has warned against sand mining.
The Council has also warned that cultivation on public land will result in fines and imprisonment.
In a statement, LCC Chief Executive Officer, Macloud Kadammanja, says mining without permission is an offense and that the council will confiscate unauthorized sand heaps.
The council also states that crops grown on public land will be destroyed during the next maize planting season without compensation.
The development has impressed some environmental experts in the country who said this should extend to all cities and districts.
One of the environmental experts, Mathews Malata, said the challenge is that Malawi has not been enforcing sand mining-related laws.
“It is a national problem because almost all the cities, including districts, people extract sand the way they want.”
He further urged authorities to raise awareness among the people about the law so that they understand why it is not allowed to extract sand in some areas.
People have traditionally been extracting sand and cultivating in rivers and other areas, including public land, which is contrary to the city bylaws.
This means that people should stop sand mining within the city’s jurisdiction without a license.
