A Wildlife Consultant Wezi Kachinda has implored Minister of Lands Harry Kalaba to reconsider his decision of allowing the establishment of Mine in Lower Zambezi National Park.
Mr. Kachinda said that Mr. Kalaba should also take time to study a report on which the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) rejected the establishment of mine in the national park.
Mr. Kachinda also noted that it was imperative that ZEMA together with the Minister of Lands come up with an ecological system report of the Lower Zambezi National Park thereby allowing the people of Zambia not to auction the future of country for immediate benefits without considerations of generations to come.
Mr. Kachinda has since urged all Zambians to be wary of any maneuvers that are aimed at stealing the country’s inheritance and erasing its cultural history.
Editor’s Note
There is a Petition for this cause. Check the link below
these are a ‘listening govt’ , says shame-nda. these are results of a failed leadership. no direction whatsoever. for them as long as their pockets are lined up
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GABON DISASTER MEMORIAL STADIUM
These guys! They cannot come up with a policy or plan reasonable enough to engage the public. Instead of promoting tourism in the lower Zambezi, they are busy trying to disrupt the eco-system for a non long pecuniary advantage! What a waste!
And their boss asks them to kneel before us at his by election campaigns…very laughable indeed.
His pocket is with more money already and you expect him to listen.
The future of Zambia depends on how much we sustain our environment.Mines live much destruction.We have example of Kabwe,Mufulira and Chingola mines which has contributed to the destruction of the environment.Moreover,go to Kalumbila,Kansashi and the people are not benefiting anything.
We need to protect our environment from this destruction.
Mr.Kalaba can we serve the future generation.
Mr Kalaba, please give back the money the mine owners bribed you with, & reverse that stupid decision to allow mining on our precious heritage site.
Its not too late to save yourself from a bed space in Chimbokaila in future once your paymasters are no longer in power.
Think of the impact a long spell in Chimbokaila will have on your poor family, & children.
Iwe the projected started in 2004 when MMD was in power. Kalaba, kalaba was bribed wakwisa. Zambians research before you show your stupidity and ignorance. If anything what Kalaba’s decision is okey. Zambians need jobs. Copperbelt was once like that as well. But look at our relatives working in the mines. Thousands of them.
Mwebantu, Saulosi also does not want this mine. I bet you are now confused.
Iwe’ Mwebantu @ 3.1
What Rock are U living under not be aware in this day & age, that indigenous peoples of developing countries NEVER benefit from a mine owned by foreign owners. Check out the Documentary “Bad Copper Good Copper”, & tell me if Glencore has benefited the local population. Go to Nigeria & see ” What wonders Shell / B.P has brought to the Niger Delta” -ts NOT Wealth, but Death & Desruction,& this trend is replicated up & down the Continent. If You allow this mine, the obvious beneficiaries, Trust Me, won’t be the local Zambian’s apart from the few corrupt ones that gave this Scam the go ahead. Don’t debate unless You have data & intelligence – You Will Lose!
Mwebantu 3.1 – So we should turn the whole country to what the Copperbelt is? Stu.pid PF Cadre, you will not even see a ngwee of this distraction.
Good call.Kalaba is a disgrace.High time the decision was reversed.
Can someone please educate me, why are we having this three days Mourning period. Who has died and what position he held in society.
Charles Muyamwa, he sang a few songs and his wife cheated on him with some white guy, and he was also a broadcaster and I guess Sata’s friend. We should just be lucky that Sata never went to school coz if he did, any old classmate dying would mean national mourning.
value of national mourning is lost……bushe nibonse??? some people you just have to send message of condolonces naimwe ba ukwa.
Charles Muyamwa isactually worth mourning. He contributed a lot to music, broadcasting and education. Some of the songs you sang in school as kids are probably written by him. The most popular one I guess is “I’m going to the river”, the piano version of which used to start some education programme in the mornings. I heard it every day when preparing for school.
What is the presidential position on this matter?
Should it even be debatable given experts whom we should trust have already told us the implications of allowing such an environmental disaster?Why are we so desperate ?IT is not as if the country is in so much an economic crysis it has the destruction of the named environment as the last resort to save the nation or is it?
Humility and good leadership is reflected in the leaders’ comprehension that they are responsible for not only themselves but the world as well.Is the honarable an environmentalist ?I believe ZEMA was set to give professional advise which with sincerity should be heeden to.The world is watching.More importantly Zambia’s informed younger generation is watching.Hon learn to be humble ,you cant fight nature or it will…
Dude, I dont think this Kalaba chaps decision was his own. Sata told him to do it. I don’t think he has the kahunas to make independent proclamations considering what happened to one Emmanuel Mwamba.
There is no presidential position on this or any matter of national importance. By-elections? Oh yes, now we are talking! The president will even come out of hiding for that one!
Bwana Minister, pliz think using ur senses n not the bribes u r receiving!!U wil set a very dangerous precedence n we shall Mines in all Game Parks thereby destroying nature!
Lower Zambezi is the source of food, medicine, shelter for wildlife among other benefits. Mining activities will bring pollution (water, land & air) thereby disturbing the eco-system. Meaning our people will no longer have clean water, food, medicine etc. Please my fellow Zambians let us stop this deadly move. And, to the responsible minister I wish to state that reconsider your decision.
Most of Zambia is just bush. Its okay to put a mine here and there. pollution from Zambia is nothing compared to China or even south Africa. What I don’t like about these mines are that:
1) They foreign owned
2) Poor taxation
3) We cant process our copper ( we import things like transformers which are basically coils of copper wire ).
I can go on and on.
the thing is, we enjoy our fresh air and clean water! we don’t want to reach the air and water pollution levels these countries you have mentioned have. go to japan or china, you will appreciate the importance of what we have. ask these countries, they regret. japan for instance in planing to build a mega city in one skyscraper all in an effort to save land for trees and vegetation plantation. EVERY industrialized country at the moment is working towards protecting and developing their vegetation but what are we doing, destroying it. all for nothing!
Interesting
This govt has heard and is already looking at avenues to transfer the mine to other fitting areas.Kalaba is capable and well meaning.
What can Kalaba do?The guys coming to mine are Guy Scots friends.The mining activity in ?LZ?is Scots pension.On this issue Kalaba is like a barking dog in animal farm.We all saw him on ZNBC news last evening and certainly the man just stands for that..?Shame?I guess our animals have been airlifted to some park or auctioned for trouphies in Las Vegas like the case in Namibia?
Take them to your village.
I know the Lower Zambezi National Park so well. It is home to many buffalos, elephants, hippos, tiger fish, impala, lions etc. Surely we could have saved the lives of these God given creatures if avoid projects like mining. At least a hotel construction is better. Wild animals wont speak for themselves they will just die one specie after another as long as us humans continue disturbing their habitats
@Taja,
It’s more than that my dear, not everything is about money and Luxuries! Undisturbed nature is Life, it’s healing, trust me you need it. You humans are so blind you have no idea what keeps you going, you only see through money and meaningless shiny things that help reduce your life span! You are busy stretching your sight very far that you miss the most valuable treasure just below your nose!
You have mined for so long, has there been anything gilittering and prescious as imagined in your minds, all you do is want want, get get get and you never stop! How far are you going to go? You will never be satisfield, you are sooo greedy you will never have enough! Stop this madness and give the people their priceless heritage the only thing they own!
@Cindy, America and Europe has shiny things and a lot of money and yet they live longer than Zambians who have a lot natural resources. We have mined for so long and still are mining and that is what is keeping your relatives driving nice cars, banks coming on board, owning houses, booming of towns etc. I don’t mean to discredit tourism but do you think tourism can do that? If it can do that why hasn’t done it? I like tourism and natural resources but how many people has tourism employed and how much do employees get apart from hand to mouth kind of living always in perpetual poverty? Through the mines thousands have jobs. Look at Kalumbila, they will build a new modern town in Africa, shopping mall. Can tourism do that? Look at how many pipo Kansashi mine has employed making life…
The resources in the ground will never finish until the second coming of Jesus. Mining has been there since time immemorial: i mean thousands of years ago. New discoveries will come. When technology increases, even the most useless minerals are used in technology. Humans are just too few to exploit all the mineral resources. Mineral resources will always be there. It is God who puts them there. Why did God put copper in the Lower Zambezi if God knew that there will be a conflict of interest. God gave us brains to sort out our issues. Imagine if America was not ambitious enough to go to the moon, they would not have gone. It is determination that matters. If the mine owners can mine and respect our resources and animals, well and good. They just need close supervision, that is all.
Galu Mushota speaking from the other end, pantu taibula ukubwekeshapo.
Kalaba has betrayed the people of Zambia,,,,,,,please Sata reverse this
Indeed Humans are distractive beyond imagination! Does he even think about the Animals? This is the same as alliens invading your planet in the name of survival! I hope this one gets fired, this is the same as selling your own country, I wonder if the right procedure was followed. Some of these people can take you to the darkest place you never wanted to go, I wish I could grab him by the legs and swing him so hard then let him go as far as the ocean, this is tantamount to terror!
You are not the real Cindy
This is Cindy.. she doesn’t support this non-sense and quite right. I hope this doesn’t go through..
Please can we learn from our mistakes. Let us not rob our future generations of the beauty they are able to enjoy, the amazing biodiversity, the clean waters….that will all change. Will Zambia benefit?
The tragedy of this situation is that a single person can unilaterally take a key decision that has far wide reaching implications for both present and future generations. There is a need to change the system in place and review the powers of Ministers as well as those of the Presidnet. If this has been taken care of in the draft constitution, then there is hope for Zambia.
Kalaba must be declared a most wanted man in Zambia, he should be picked left, right, centre and his ball* removed for this corrupt action to sell our nation to foriegners, who does he think he is? Zambia or God? Stop this rot or we shall kick your As* out this is not a joke, we have started looking for stupid leaders for punishment since our justice is dead.
People need Jobs not animals, Zambia has lot of animal elsewhere. People are starving, are they going to continue starving and watching animals. Lower Zambezi is just a luxury place for a few rich Zambians and foreigners to go and chill-out. PEOPLE NEED JOBS PLEASE. Even the animals they are trying to protect will all be eaten due to starvation, and trees cut down for charcoal.
Zambia also has a lot of mineral deposits that are not located in national parks, what type of jobs are you even talking about? Most of these companies bring their own management teams…when are we going to strive to promote sectors that create quality jobs with transferable skills like in Telecomms and Agriculture.
Look at the bigger picture with a better managed Sustainable tourism sector we can raise revenue and create quality employment. Remember also that this company will be given a 25 year licence now please tell us if you have benefited anything from 15-20 years those multi-national companies have been mining on the copperbelt. Do you think those selfsame shareholders of that company would even dare to mine in their own countries or backyards.
Wake UP!!
People Need Jobs Please: There are a lot of ordinary Zambians working in the tourism industry in the Lower Zambezi valley who will lose their jobs when this mine ruins the environment and the tourists stop visiting. The jobs the mine provides will not be given to ordinary Zambians but to non-Zambians, most likely Chinese as if this mine goes ahead, the Chinese will probably be major shareholders with the Australians. So… We will have ruined a beautiful natural environment at the cost of thousands of jobs for Zambians to provide a few jobs for non-Zambians and a bank full of money for China and Australia. How does this add up to a good deal for Zambia?
Cry my former beloved country!!! mining in the lower Zambezi? in today’s times news, fast track degree holders who can not sell anywhere in the world. What can a fast track mathematician do in this modern competitive world with Chinese? Introducing local languages when Winter or any other minister can not send their child for Bemba, Nyanja or Ikitonga. Please my kids can never step at Makasa University. Its just political. God let me die here.Amen
These guys do not listen at all. Kalaba is even the worst. He believes he has the monopoly of wisdom. All this is falling on deaf ears.
On the other hand, we the Zambian youth are to blame. We entrusted a senile old man to take care of our future when his own future has already been lived. How can he think of our future when he is so old? Same with the Kalaba’s. How can they think about the youth when they have already lived their lives and are now simply eating. Kalaba will not be there when there is nothing but huge craters in Lower Zambezi. PF are just destroying Zambia!
How much of a monster is this Kalaba guy? He must be thrown into a den of lions so that he can learn a lesson or two about the true laws of the jungle. I bet his carcass will not be enough even for breakfast.
Animals have feelings too. They mourn their loved ones who die. They too feel the pangs of hunger when there’s no food. They too were created by God. The fact that Mr. Sata has seven guns, which he probably uses to hunt and kill animals, should not make of us all a nation of savages who have no regard for nature and the beautiful ecosystem that God created.
If Mr. Kalaba thinks that animals are of no value, then of how much value is he himself? During the flood of Noah, more animals than humans were saved. Should this tell us that God does have value for animals too? And if Mr. Kalaba thinks that animals are only good for food, then why shouldn’t animals return the favour and have him for food instead? Feed him to the crocodiles of lower Zambezi.
It is a known and proven fact that the environmental impacts of mining includes erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes.
Additionally, in some instances, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil. Besides creating environmental damage, the contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals also affects the health of the local population of animals and people.
Some mining methods, especially those used in Zambia may have significant environmental and public health effects especially on children. Visit Kankoyo township and see for yourself.
Erosion of exposed hillsides, mine dumps,…
people have spoken let those with ears listen to what people have belaboured. buchumbu mushololwa will never take us anywhere. As for ZEMA keep up your good jobs guys you shall be exonerated one day like the trade kings factory in Kafue.
Some Trivia for the Ignorant Zambian.
Kabwe is one of the MOST POLLUTED places on Earth.
What Caused this Pollution?? MINING!
Are the indigenous people of Kabwe living in Castles?? NO!
How come? Thought we’ve been mining in Kabwe for Years & Years??
**FOOD FOR THOUGHT! **
It is not as though this Kalaba gentleman is famished and must invade the wild in search of edible roots and wild fruits, no. He has much and more to spare for himself and his family. It’s purely out of greed that he has decided to deny even the animals of the wild the right to live.
Animals have their natural habitat given to them by God. But man, out of greed, would rather claim everything as his and give no consideration whatsoever to the animals. And yet, it is man, of all creatures, who claims to have the intelligence to fear and worship God, the creator of everything! Shouldn’t this be reason enough for man to act more responsibly toward nature? I now can see Mr. George Orwell’s disgust.
We need the mine. More than the wildlife needs a home!
PF GOVT SHOULD LEARN TO LOOK AT THE FUTURE NOT JUST DOING THINGS BLINDLY IN THE NAME OF CREATING JOBS SO THAT THEY WIN THE 2016 ELECTIONS. IF THEY CANT LISTEN TO ZEMA THEN ZEMA HAS NO USE, ITS BETTER TO DISMANTLE IT. AS AN AGROFORESTER IAM NOT HAPPY PERSONALLY. DONT JUST IMPRESS PEOPLE THAT YOU ARE CREATING JOBS WHEN THE BAG OF MEALI MEAL IS MORE THAN THE PRICE OF CEMENT
BAKALABA MWASEBANA CORRUPTION IN BLOD DAY LIGHT.
CANCEL THIS MINING LICENCE OR ELSE YOU LOSE YOUR JOB.
People please comment on things you have knowledge about not just criticising for the sake of it
MINES PAY LOW TAXES THAN WORKING ZAMBIANS.
EVERY DAY MINES ARE RETREANCHING ZAMBIANS.
MINES BRING THEIR OWN SKILLED MANPOWER AND ONLY EMPLOYEE ZAMBIANS AS CASUALS.
SHOW ME THE BENEFITS, MINES HAVE BROUGHT. THEY ONLY CONTAMINATE RIVERS , DESTROY THE ECOSYSTEM AND LEAVE THE COUNTRY AFTER MAKING THEIR MONEY.
Spot on Afconi boyi!!
Zambia has not benefited from mining. The nation is not even shareholders in these mines. All the money is sent to off shore tax havens. Zambezi Resources have offices in Bermuda. We do not see any tangible benefits. Let us diversify and grow our country and economy in a sustainable, forward looking manner. WE can do it, we say no to mining in the Lower Zambezi.
Minister Kalaba, please reconsider your decision, there is still time. Listen to what ZEMA has advised you. They are the professionals. The people will thank you for it.
We need to embarrass the Zambian Government into understanding that the Lower Zambezi Valley and National Park are part of a greater environment which is has been declared a World Heritage site (Mana Pools National Park, which lies directly opposite the Lower Zambezi National Park on the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River). Mining, and particularly open-cast pit mines of the kind which have been greenlighted by Zambia’s minister of land, natural resources and environment, Harry Kalaba, should not be allowed in a national park and will cause catastrophic damage to the area’s environment, which is protected by law. Kalaba overturned his own Government’s environmental agency’s ruling which prohibited the move to mine by Zambezi Resources, an Australian company, after rejecting its…