A Government delegation led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Hon. Bernard K. Membe (MP) was i...
A Government delegation led by
the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Hon. Bernard
K. Membe (MP) was in Ruvuma Region for a two-day mission aimed at briefing the
locals in the Lake Nyasa area on the ongoing negotiations over the border
dispute with Malawi.
The delegation that also included
members of the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces (TPDF), the President’s Office,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the Ministry of
Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development and the Ministry of
Information, Culture, Youth and Sports visited and talked to Wananchi in Mbamba Bay, Liuli, Lituhi
Wards in the New Nyasa District and Songea District.
On arrival at Ruiko Airport in
Songea on September 8, 2012, the delegation was received by the Ruvuma Regional
Commissioner, Hon. Said Mwambungu and other senior regional officials. Hon. Membe thanked the Regional Commissioner
for the warm reception and hospitality accorded to himself and his
delegation.
Introducing members of his
delegations, the Minister said “we are here for two objectives, brief the Wananchi on the ongoing bilateral talks,
get the oral tradition and local knowledge from elders around Lake Nyasa,” assuring
Wananchi security and normalcy in
their daily activities.
Tanzania and Malawi have been in
border dispute over the Lake Nyasa since the attainment of each country’s
independence. Malawi claims right to the
whole Lake Nyasa, while Tanzania claims ownership to half of the Lake.
“We stand firm that the border
runs in the middle of the Lake and that even if we go to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), we will be ready to justify that,” said the
Minister.
The Minister said that the
Government has been working diligently on resolving the dispute diplomatically,
and if all other efforts fail, then the ICJ will likely be the final course to
take.
The mission started in Mbamba Bay
Ward, where the Minister spoke with the elders.
One of them was Mr. Gideon Liganga Ndembeka (85), who articulated a
detailed history of Lake Nyasa, stating that the frontier or borderline of the
two countries was and still is in the middle of the Lake.
He demonstrated that fact with
the help of historical books written by the British Colonial Government,
whereby the frontier between Tanzania and Malawi was located in the
middle. Mr. Ndembeka provided the said
books to Hon. Membe, to assist the Government in building its case.
Mr. Ndembeka is a fourth
generation after the Germany rule and descendant of the first councilor of
Tanganyika origin.
Moreover, one of the prominent
fishermen in Mbamba Bay strongly raised an observation of the fact that the
frontier is in the middle and not otherwise.
This is supported by regular practice of Ship Captains of either side
who observe the change of flag rule, when entering each others’ waters.
“This change of flags always takes place at the
median point of the Lake Nyasa where the water demarcates itself in a form of a
ridge or edge shape,” he said, adding that they usually call it an upper
point.
This point was supported by other elders,
who asserted that when entering the Tanzanian waters at the upper point,
Malawian ships will lower and replace their flags with Tanzania flags, an
exercise which Tanzanian ships do when entering Malawian waters at the upper
point.
On his visit to Liuli Ward, Hon. Membe met with
various elders aging between 60 to 98 years of age, who most of them expressed
their agony over the Lake Nyasa border dispute. One of them, Ms. Mariam
Chiundu said “this is not a man-made Lake, and therefore one cannot claim
sovereignty over it. It is a natural feature from God, and it ought
to be shared.” Her argument was centered at the fact that God is not
discriminative.
During the mission, Hon. Membe also stopped by
Lituhi Ward and Songea District where the sentiments were overwhelmingly
similar to those expressed in other visited Wards. However, in Lituhi,
the elders unanimously said that River Songwe naturally demarcates the River
into two halves, and all the way to the Shire River towards the Mozambique
side. This observation supports the claim provided by the elders in Liuli
and Mbamba Bay Wards that the upper point marks the median line of the Lake
between the two countries.
For Songea District, where the two-day tour
ended, the Minister was told about the school, church, cemeteries, farm
yards and a village which were all submerged in the Lake as a result of
drifting and expansion of the water mass towards the land. To their dismay,
that would mean that if the border was set in the shore at 1890 where could it
be today?
In his closing statement, Hon. Membe assured the Wananchi of Songea District, and all who
are living around the Lake Nyasa area, of their security and properties, and
that the Government wants them to continue with their daily activities without
any worries.
Ends
Source:
TAGIE DAISY MWAKAWAGO
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