Malawi renegotiating Kayerekera Uranium Mine deal with Paladin

Malawi’s Minister of Mines John Bande has disclosed that government has started renegotiating the deal with Paladin Africa Limited (PAL) on the Kayerekera Uranium Mine for the mutual benefit of the two parties.

The development comes after Malawians – opposition Petra president Kamuzu Chibambo, lawmaker Lifred Nawena and some activists – were critical of the agreement made in 1999, saying the southern African country whose economy is dependent on agriculture was getting a raw deal.

“We’re working on modalities to discuss in public the agreement between Kayerekera and the Malawi government,” Banda told Malawi’s Zodiak Radio in an interview.

The minister, who accused the previous government of making the agreement confidential, said the first step will be to remove the confidentiality clause so that it’s made public before working on other issues in the deal.

Kayerekera Uranium Mine in Malawi’s border district of Karonga is arguably the biggest mine in the country and Malawi is said to be collecting about US$ 100 million in taxes annually from it. If successfully reviewed, Malawi could get more than this.