Raiply Limited Issues Statement On Harmful Bushfires

Raiply Malawi Limited has issued a strong appeal to communities surrounding it’s forest management area to desist from starting fires in the Viphya Plantation whose results have a huge bearing to the country’s economy.

The appeal comes in the wake of recent bushfires that have been destroying thousands of hectares of vegetation in the country despite vigorous campaigns against the malpractice.

In a press release issued on Tuesday signed by Raiply Limited’s Public Relations Officer Dalitson Chimwala reminds all Malawians about the ownership of the 53 hectare plantation which it states belongs to the citizenry as such setting it on fires is retrogressive.

“Any little fires leads to destruction of thousands of hactares and disturbance to the ecosystem and environmental pollution,” reads part of the statement.

The company is therefore requesting everyone to report arsonists to police for the law to take it’s course.

In a related development, the Director of Environment in the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management, Dr. Aloysius Kamperewera says over 400 million acres of land worldwide are left bare annually due to wildfires.

Kamperewera stressed that bushfires are one of natural disasters along with cyclones, earthquakes and volcanoes generating temperatures of up to 900 degrees Celsius, damaging grasslands, forests and homes.

Authentic sources shows that worldwide, 26 percent of bushfires are from natural causes, while 74 percent are as a result of human activities such as charcoal making, mice hunters and careless smokers causing most of the bushfires.

“There have been reports of fires in Vipya Plantation started by angry workers, where over 600 hectares of forest was destroyed, and other forest reserves, which is sad,” Kamperewera said.

However, Kamperewera then said deploying patrol teams was not enough to curb bushfires arguing that the country needs laws that will help control bush fires as currently, the country does not have proper resource allocation and leadership on bushfire issues.

“There are some policies where one would expect to find something about fires such as the National Forestry Policy, Wildlife Act, National Environment Policy 2004, National Land Resources Management Policy 2000 and Irrigation Act 2001, but none of these comprehensively addresses issue of controlling bush fires,” he added.

Recent reports of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources shows that most people in the country do not value natural resources and as such, they do not see the burning of bushes as a bad practice.

In a bid to control bushfires in the country, stakeholders from different government departments met in June this year (2023) to tackle the problem described as “a sleeping giant about to wake up and destroy the country”.