Growing up in a Border District and Resolving the Tanzania-Malawi Lake Dispute: Compromise and concessions

Book excerpt: The author who comes from Tanzania in a district that borders Malawi looks at ways in which the dispute between the two countries on Lake Nyasa/Malawi can be resolved. He contends that the dispute cannot be resolved without compromise and bold concessions by both sides. The work contains a number of proposals which may help pave the way towards resolving the conflict. Failure to do so means only one thing: maintaining the status quo which has existed since the dispute started almost 60 years ago. He goes on to argue that escalation of the crisis into a potentially explosive situation cannot be ruled out, with dire consequences for both sides; hence the need for both countries to accept the unacceptable, if they want to resolve the dispute, by making bold concessions they don't want to make. The dispute cannot be resolved by military means if one or both countries were to opt for such a “solution,” which is not a solution at all, he contends.