By Edwin Mauluka

The Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJN) has called for the localisation of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) to improve awareness, transparency, and accountability in Malawi’s mining sector.

NRJN National Coordinator Kennedy Rashid made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday during an EITI awareness workshop for companies in the extractive industry.

“The first step is to localise the EITI standard so that local councils understand it and make the information public. We also need to give it a legal mandate for transparency and accountability in the mining sector, as this will compel companies and government to disclose data from the extractive sector,” he said.

Rashid noted that many companies in the sector fail to submit required EITI information, largely due to limited awareness and weak enforcement.

“Most companies have not been reached to learn what EITI is about. The voluntary nature also plays a role. If companies were properly informed, I believe they would comply. Generally, government has focused more on civil society groups and not on private sector actors,” he said.

He expressed hope that the workshop would help close the existing knowledge gap among companies and support government efforts to position the extractive sector as a key driver of economic growth.

Chamber of Mines and Energy Coordinator Grain Malunga said illegal and artisanal miners remain outside compliance frameworks because they are not regulated and lack operational licences.

“The Chamber of Mines is voluntary. We encourage our members to comply with the Mines and Minerals Act, EITI processes, and community engagement. But there are mining and exploration companies that are not members. They are not accountable to anyone, and since there are no regulations binding them to join the chamber, they operate outside it and pose serious compliance challenges,” Malunga said.

He called for decentralisation of oversight of the extractive sector, arguing that artisanal and small-scale mining should be regulated at district council level, where most mining activity takes place.

“People engage in mineral extraction not because they have expertise, but because it is driven by poverty. If we empower district councils to supervise artisanal mining, we can address environmental degradation and reduce mineral smuggling,” he said.

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Photo above by Edwin Mauluka