Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani says it was not responsible for lead poisoning at Kabwe lead mine nearly 50 years ago.
The mine says it plans to defend itself after a class action was filed against.
The class action suit was filed last week by South African law firm Mbuyisa Moleele and UK-based Leigh Day on behalf of what they say is estimated to be more than 100,000 individuals over allegations of negligence.
“We intend to defend our position as we don’t believe Anglo American is responsible for the current situation,” Cutifani said during the presentation of a company sustainability report.
The class action, which is seeking compensation for girls and women with lead poisoning who have or may become pregnant as well as clean-up and remediation of the area, alleges that Anglo American South Africa (AASA) is liable for the lead emissions.
The lawsuit says the company did not rectify design deficiencies which led to the lead emissions and failed to ensure clean-up of the contaminated land before the mine was taken over in 1974 by ZCCM, a state-owned company.
Cutifani said they were however concerned about the situation at Kabwe mine adding that contamination is just not acceptable anywhere.
Human Rights Watch, which last year released a report on Kabwe found that more than a third of people lived in lead-contaminated townships due to the mine’s activities.
Exposure to high levels of lead, which children are particularly susceptible to, could impair growth, damage organs such as the liver and brain and increase the risk of miscarriage, the report said.
Leigh Day was one of the firms that represented thousands of miners who contracted silicosis and tuberculosis, potentially fatal lung diseases, in a 5-billion-rand ($309.36 million) class action settlement with gold mining companies including Anglo American.
These capitalists will never accept any liabilities, especially when it concerns poor Africans. The Chinese are even worse when it come to environmental damage, because them even end up eating all the wild life in that area, thus destroying the ecosystem. Let’s just develop ourselves based on the “African’ way, taking care of the environment and society at large.
Kabwe’s mine dates to the colonial period: a British company opened the lead mine in 1904. The South African company Anglo American took over in 1925 and remained in charge for nearly half a century.
Anglo American, win this case. The mine was nationalized in 1974 and so the Zambian Government, also operated the same mine until closure in 1994.
So the one that should be sued here is our the Zambian Government
Lets prepare for a battle because these capitalists will never admit the harm they cause. They only come here to make money. He has the audacity to bark he doesnt believe Anglo American is responsible for the current situation, Mopani Mines are preparing a similar defence for polluting Mufulira. We must wake up
Let them pay period
The Key words are ” did not rectify the design defects of the mine”…based on what Anglo America knew over time and the danger that Lead poses to communities, they were obliged to safe-guard the people and the environment. That’s why they are being sued….
Was lead only poisonous when the mine was operated by Anglo-American Corporation? ZCCM operated the mine from 1974 until 1995. How will liability for this period be worked out? Mining actually started under the BSA Co in 1902.
This is going to be interesting and I will be watching out for lacunae as well as technicalities going forward. Otherwise I would love to know the liability of ZCCM from 1974 all the way until 1994… We might need to players to pay up apa. Ndithu.
President Mwanawasa vowed never to bring these thieves back in the country. Who let them in? You keep tinkering with something that keeps letting you down with different excuses each time. When are we going to learn that these people are not our friends and will never be. Successive governments keep them sweet because they are fearful of the distabilizing wip these crooks have. We just need to walk away from them.
Look at the stuppid Zambians above supporting Anglo America. It took South Africans and the British to sue this company on your behalf. Let that sink in. Yet Zambians are on the side of the devil here. ZCCM to shall and needs to be sued. The British government should also be sued for the evils before independence.
Statue of limitations. You can’t sue after 50 years. The south african law firm suing is doing it for personal gain as it will get the lions share of the proceeds should they be given an offer by Anglo.
@Nzelu I keep saying we have no opposition in Zambia. Such cases should be vigilantly taken up by an alert opposition but we are relying on other countries’ constitutions to fight for our cause. I dont see a strategy for winning the citizens rights and therefore hearts, in our opposition. They think they will just turn up on election day and win.
These are the same idio.ts HH wants to bring back into Zambia to come and finish us..God forbid.