at the freedom statue in Lusaka
Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Harry Kalaba says the decision to grant Zambezi Resources a licence to mine copper in Lower Zambezi was made by cabinet.
Mr. Kalaba said he cannot be personally blamed for the decision as it was not a personal decision.
He was speaking on Monday morning on Hot FM Breakfast Show via phone.
Of course I overruled ZEMA’s decision but I was not alone, the entire cabinet including the President had the final say
He however confirmed that he wrote to cabinet recommending the granting of the mine licence and disregarding the order by ZEMA not to proceed.
Mr Kalaba said the decision to go ahead and mine in the park was supported by the entire cabinet chaired by late President Michael Sata.
He said this is why then Chief Government Spokesman Mwansa Kapeya was tasked with communication the cabinet decision over the matter and not him as Lands Minister.
“Up until now, I have never publicly commented on this issue because I was asked by cabinet to allow the Chief Government Spokesman by then Hon. Kapeya to communicate cabinet decision on the matter,” Mr Kalaba said.
Mr. Kalaba further said, cabinet was involved in this whole process and he did not overrule ZEMA decision on Lower Zambezi alone therefore, PF shouldn’t hide behind the finger.
“Of course I overruled ZEMA’s decision but I was not alone, the entire cabinet including the President had the final say”, he concluded.
What useless leaders we have in Zambia.Selling the country to foreigners at the expense of Zambians and future generations of Zambians.The environmental damage to the lower Zambezi will be irreversible. This decision was not done on behalf of Zambians but probably to line the pockets of government officials.This should be investigated by an independent tribunal .Democracy isn’t working very well in Africa!! How can it when the majority of the population is ignorant on the implications of decisions made on their behalf. Government needs to make serious decisions clear to ordinary people in a language they understand not those complicated colonial terminologies. I’m so disgusted with ALL of late Satas cabinet.
Do not bring Sata into this mess. He was on his death bed by the time these decisions were being made.
The PF is just full of black magic, and they never take responsibility for anything.
I would not recommend voting for anyone into high office that has every been affiliated with these thieves aka PF.
So Kalaba, I am no longer a fan of yours.
I actually lost confidence in you when you declared that you support that fake thieving prophet, Bushiri.
This is just the nail in your casket.
And useless Makebi Zulu wants to blame HH for the sale/mining of Lower Zambezi. These guys take use for f00ls.
PF and Sata to be specific are the cause of this mess, this is the result of chipante-pante policies….own up and cancel that license. ZEMA told you not to do it but you did not listen.
So why are confused PF cadres saying it was HH who sold the lower Zambezi. Next you will here that HH has privatized State House….
Kalaba has just shown us some integrity by being truthful on the part he personally made even though it was an entire cabinet decision, well done Kalaba. So now mwe fipuba where does HH come in, in this issue
So it was PF cabinet, including Minister Edgar Lungu and Minister of Gender Inonge, minister Shambikula, Minister Kambwili… ALL of them authorised HH to sale the National Park? HH sold game park on behalf of PF… That’s what that thing in Eastern province was telling you and you were clapping!?
That Makebi Zulu must be the worst idyot in PF. Or is Makebi being sacastic to insult the PF cabinet has the idyots screwed by HH?
Then why is are is the Pf govt blaming HH for their decisions? These people are running mad for love for money. These lazy people can’t imagine life without govt money. They have even depleted the coffers and are now packing.
HAZALUZAH HAGAIn because he is UNELECTABLE.
For those who are asking why HH’s name is being brought into this mess: If he is an investor with the buyers of the mine, then he is party to the problem. Kalaba should now not run away and hide under a cabinet decision – he should account for his personal decision to support this decision.
As line minister you have the responsibility of guiding government and through cabinet on the best possible route to take on issues under your ministry.
You are supposed to put across the pros and cons, your conclusion and recommendations.
Sorry, the clever people of Zambia won’t buy your explanation. In fact most of us feel insulted by your reasoning and we will make sure the money you made from kickbacks is the last.
I wonder how Sata chaired that Cabinet meeting because he was so sick that his uncle Chikwanda called him an absentee landlord. The truth will come out when Hichilema’s Freemason friends sue for compensation. $14M is a lot of money. History repeats itself. When LPM was sick that’s when a lot of money disappeared at MoH
You simply can not trust anyone that has mansions in Swaziland, or bank accounts in Panama.
Zambians wake up fast, we are on our own.
Stick together now, and we might just have a chance to save Zambia.
So reverse the decision and tell whom ever you sold the land to you have come to your senses and yes be ready to face the consequences of breach of contract
It’s time you so called leaders loved your country . How and why are you selling each and everything to foreigners, what has truly become of our leaders. Are you sure ,you’re here for the good? Can you even sort out forest 27 now.
Which leaders?Are there leaders in PF?From the top all you have are people holding leadership positions, there are no leaders in PF
Kanpyongo and other must think twice before taking wrong cabinet decisions, PF balasambamo and then you look sichopeti.
NOW WHERE IS HH NAMED HERE. PF POINTING AT THEMSELVES ONLY
He is an investor with the buyers. Buying stolen property is a crime.
@ abilima, and just how does someone steal a national park to sell it? National parks are government properties, and I believe that before a government can sell a property or grant a license to any prospective investor they scrutinize to know exactly who they are dealing with and believe me if HH was named as director on such an investors papers PF would have rejected the purchase upon seeing HH’s name.
Even when ZEMA said NO , disregard of the bodies responsible. This tells us something if the government was able to overrule ZEMA what other bodies have been disregard, Electoral Commission, Police ?just wondering .. Since ZEMA said no the government should say lets stand with the law which refused this in the first place
*disregarded
Did he just mention: I ignored ZEMA recommendations?
So if some citizen ignore traffic rules,there must not be consequences?
What a country…
But what was Kalaba’s personal conviction? These are situations where people resign on grounds of decisions going against their personal conviction.
He has just confirmed that it is his signature that appears on the document disregarding ZEMA’s advice. To me he is disqualified from the Presidency. Spineless bum!
AZ , this guy doe s not explain his position on the matter. He was just flowing and following instructions . The question is what advise did he present to cabinet for or against the granting of the license.
The strange thing is he over rates himself to think he is presidential material. The bar has dropped so low for the calibre of a President.
Very few people can take blame like this man. I admire his courage. This closes the accusations. ECL was deputy minister but then. So he was not in cabinet.
Guilty and irresponsible in every way. He should have resigned at that point. But went so far as to overrule ZEMA.
He should never shout “corruption” in others because he is as irresponsible as others.
Is it documented to prove that Sata’s Cabinet approved mining in the Zambezi national park?
One thing people are failing to grasp on this issue is: This licensing process started in LPM’s government, proceeded onto RB’s government, then Sata’s government were the decision was finally made. It was going to be Prudent if all that the MMD during LVP and RB was revised but dont know how Sata’s governemnt saw it fitting to continue with the proceedings until now being spelt over to the current regime which seems to also go with the flow.
Mr Kalaba, this level of 1diocy needs to stop; Zambia sia nyonko olo wiso. You must respect the environment for future generations.
Zambia is ruled by imbeciles, to them wielding power in the corridors of state is much like acts right out of the blockburster “The Night of the Living Dead” or indeed “Thriller”. By the time these PF dickheads are done with Zambia, there will be no country remaining to talk about. All this ‘Umodzi Kumawa’ and “Sela tubombe ko” will all end up in the “bikapani tuna bwa lindwafulu za myoko”.
Well, this most destructive project has not yet commenced. Therefore, the Government can still reverse it, on grounds of inadequate study of the ecology & resulting impact on it if such undertaking went ahead.
Somehow, @Ayatolla still is wanting to insist hh had this overpowering and overriding influence over their pf cabinet decision. Baletamo naba free masson? ba Pompwe just be happy the real chief bootlicker is close to getting back ot your party!!
So HH overpowered the minister and cabinet and sold the park? If Double H is this powerful, why is he still running for the highest office in the land? Kalaba, can you explain the role Double H played in the sale of the Lower Zambezi as UPND Lawyers prepare to sue Makebi Zulu and PF for slander!
It’s not practical that someone they told that sela tubombeko would be allowed near their parte after parte.
What a shame to Mr. Makebi Zulu. If Mr. Zulu was a man of integrity he could have retracted the story and personally apologized to HH. We cannot no longer endure in lies from anybody, either from the ruling party or opposition party.
did Makebi Zulu do a research before commenting on this story?????
It was way back on the evening of 7 April 1775 that Samuel Jackson coined his ageless adage, “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” What the legendary writer was calling attention to is that scoundrels, when challenged, will often use false patriotism in order to shut up their opponents. Sata was the stinkiest skank of them all who hide behind patriotism to hide his corrosive tribal bigotry. Dorah Siliya comes a close second especially with her fervent attacks on HH as lacking patriotism! So much for a girl who to date remains clueless about the meaning of the word “nullity”. Abena Dora bena chila bushiku nakasuba lwa kunya amanonsence! At least Sata is dead!
The question is more whether the license is then transferable to another company 5 years later, am not sure if that is OK. Then the other questions of why set up a mine there when claiming such a low grade of ore exists there, that makes no sense if the survey is correct. Then the question of who performed the EIA and where can we read it…
And then the broader questions of quantifying job creation and of whether the environment (and the small tourism sector that operates off it) would be impacted, and if so, by how much in real terms? We have a lot of national parks, and we need sober analysis of the cost/benefit in real terms, not always talk of the “potential” that so many citizens are not seeing, and have been born, lived and died without seeing, since the parks were gazetted…
End of the day, if lungu wanted , he can cancel that mining permit on
“strategically important to the country “
Grounds
Every generation needs a new revolution – according to Thomas Jefferson. He was right. Guys – we need to reset the leadership button. Scrap the slate clean – elect new brooms – very bravely, and begin to experience “new” problem. Ivi talema navo zoona.
May the public be doomed..! Can we ever know the truth like This sure.! Uyu ati “Ni uyu!” Uyu nap ati “awe twine Ni uyu.” Pa last ati “ah! Ni ulya”. Serious guys..?
Lord have mercy, one lawyer went as far as talking about paradise papers, yet the journalists who came up with that report knew the legal consquences and put up a disclaimer.
1] International Consortium of Investigative Journalists had stated in their politicians database as disclaimer, that “There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in the ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly. “
My wife and I are Americans who visited Lower Zambezi NP and S. Luangwa NP two years ago and had a wonderful time. It is beyond disappointing to hear that the government is considering mining on this precious national resource. This would seem to be very short sighted thinking vs. focusing on long term economic value derived from these national parks. Many people will travel half way around the world, and at great expense, to visit these amazing and undisturbed places…..assuming they remain pristine. I hope mining in Lower Zambezi does not happen, otherwise it might be hard for Zambia to be part of our next safari.
Ba Harry, bushe mukososa ne banike??? You “wrote to cabinet recommending the granting of the mine licence and disregarding the order by ZEMA not to proceed”. As minister in charge of environmental affairs, you guided your colleagues and president??? Lelo mubepeshe abanenu lulya fya pooka???
With an ignorant and practically illiterate population such as ours, the need for a knowledgeable selfless government cannot be over emphasised. Instead we have leaders that take advantage of our collective ignorance.
That was the best time for you to resign my son “Hurry”. You can’t cacoon yourself in the name of government. Zambians are now literate even though they are graduating from Highly-locally recognised colleges i.e. Liutebm, Unilus, Cavendish etc.
Harry u can’t hurry now!!! You have fallen out of people’s grace. We used to pay you well and now you’ve insulted our integrity. Your wrong timing my boy has escalated deaths, misery and BPs in your family. Check how many of your relatives have been fired from foreign service. We know you engaged most of them via GP and with questionable legality.
You’ve just left ashes and dust in the aftermath.
Dr Edgar Changes Lung,
Dr Eddie “W” Chomba,
Dr Chishimbas Kambwili
Dr Bowman Lunsambo
It appears the reputation for “dr s” is soon becoming legend.
With such an unquestionable back ground, someone should be weeped for impudence.
now i understand why chishimba kamwili said harry kalama was not honest even his resigning from government was not clean. now check these people left messes where they are coming from. its the same chikomole why blame your friends that they are corrupt when you were in the same pot. koswes mu mpoto. no wonder they find it hard to work with hh because of his clean records. this is not the hh pf always paints black. anyway it zambia forward chabe 2021.
I think we all agree that selling the Lower Zambezi Basin for mining purposes was a very pathetic cabinet decision. The govt is in tight corner. So it has to take the NGOs and the general citizenry to solicite for international help to force the Zambian Govt to back peddle on the sale and picket Zambezi Resources also to agree on a settlement of some kind. If we have to save the Park, pointing fingers at the culprits wont solve the issue. It is time to sit down with a sober mind to craft a solution for a problem. WWF Zambia can be the lead NGO to pursue the matter.
lets stop this nonsense from PF, NO mining in the park. Kalaba, you went on TV defending your decision to grante ZEMA (EIA) approval and recommendation to the cabinet. Yes, it was the entire cabinet decision based on your “personal” recommendation (without technocrat’s support) . From that day i lost respect for you. You are just as useless as the rest. God help us.
And we have a court that can rule to allow mining in this area to go ahead against the ZEMA report. Even if it was legal in public interest that court should not have ruled in the manner it did. So the list continues – Kalaba overruled the decision of Zema and our own court overruled Zema when the consortium of NGOS took the matter to court.
But it will be very difficult for the PF to reverse this decision especially if some of them got kick backs. So Mekebi Mabisi Zulu didn’t know this story as someone in cabinet or he just wanted to as usual to mislead us. This is our lives you are playing with Makebi don’t play politics here.