for minerals in the Lochinvar National park and Kafue flats in Bweengwe constituency.
Mines and Mineral Development Minister has told parliament that Albidon Zambia limited, Dongwe and other small licensed firms are prospecting for Gypsum and other precious minerals and stones in the area.
Dr. Mwansa was responding to a question by Bweengwe Member of Parliament Hive Hamududu who wanted to know whether there were any firms prospecting for minerals in the Lochinvar national park and Kafue flats in his constituency.
Mr. Hamududu also wanted to know the names of the firms and the kind of mineral they are prospecting.
Mr. Hamududu said there was need for the Ministry of Mines to be careful as some firms would get consent for prospecting minerals while they were actually mining.
In response the Dr. Mwansa said the process of prospecting involves special meteorological works hence the use of some equipment which seem as though the companies were mining.
He appealed to those interested in prospecting for minerals in the area to apply for the mining rights.
Earlier Transport and Communications Minister, Geoffery Lungwangwa told the house that his Ministry is committed to holding the Rail Systems of Zambia (RSZ) accountable to the concession that was signed between the company and government.
Prof Lungwangwa said government will always make sure that the RSZ adheres to the concession requirements so that the rail sector develops in the country.
On the cargo exceeding the set tonnage, Prof Lungwangwa said there is a law that stipulates that any cargo vehicle should not be more than 22 metres long and should be weighed.
The Minister was responding to oral questions by Kabwe Central MP Kayula Kakusa who wanted to know whether the Government has any plans to introduce maximum tonnage on particular stretches of roads so that cargo exceeding the set tonnage should be transported by rail to save roads.
Mr. Kakusa also wanted to know when the Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) will repair the rail tracks to save the roads from being damaged by heavy trucks.
ZANIS
Leave the animals alone in tranquility.
Minerals are not the only way out of poverty.
We should learn to diversfy our economy to none mining ventures like tourism.
#1 We can
Long time my brother, how are you?
Please this is evil.These animals are a wonderful gift from God that the west dont have.The little they have are guarded jealously and we let unscruplous firms prospecting our beautiful parks? Do we have Green Peace in Zambia?These guys are going too far with their tuma dollars.Leave the animals in peace.If this is the economic development we MMD guys are preaching,then it should not come at the expense of our wildlife.
I thought a national park is an animal reserve that is established to protect some endangered animals from exploitation.NOW IF the same firms prospecting for minerals find mineral deposits,then what happens to the national park and the animals therein,drive them away to pave way for a minining,,,someone please explain
#3 should read ” the MMD guys”
This is unacceptable….UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have had (do we really actually do it?!) the opportunity to see those lovely animals and generations to come need to be granted that as well…ARE OUR LEADERS REALLY THAT HOPELESS TO LET SO CALLED COMPANIES WALK ALL OVER OUR STONES WITHOUT US ENJOYING A GOOD RETURN AND LATER ON BEGIN TO THINK OF DESTROYING OUR AMAZING ANIMALS?????? ITS 600 HUNDRED YEARS OF ABUSE PEOPLE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH…LEADERS, DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING!!! SAVE OUR PEOPLE AND OUR ANIMALS…
Iyee but our government is daft. National parks are a national treasure.These are suposed to be protected areas.Why are you allowing people to mine there? Isn’t there a law against this.I think Ministers should have a certain IQ level mwe .What kind of Zambia will our children inherit?
Imagine you are an impala and you are grazing peacifully. All of a sudens you just see bulldozers and hear dynamites blasting… our home is SLOWLY taken away… and you have this suden influx of people who start hunting you down… HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?
#2, Chapwa, Warm greetings!
Am fine, my brother.
Hope the good Lord is keeping you in perfect health. Everything is quite fine except the struggles and tiredness of having to cope with RB’s failures and oversights!
The big question here is, “Has a comprehensive environmental impact assesment been done?” if so, what does it say are the implication of such activity on wild life and the natural habitat? Lochinvar boasts of the widest variety of bird spicies in the world, what will happen to this record when full operations start? Can the minister give us anwers…
I thought I woould never say this.
But MMD must go..
That’s what you get for putting non patriots in power – they will sell out the country for a few cents more…
These chaps will sell all the animals and rivers of this beautiful country all in the name of investment. Only a foolish person would do some thing like this and looking at the way things are going at the moment with the eviction of monkeys from state house, anything is possible!
We can make a difference at the next election by voting these chaps out of office!!
Where are the people who opposed the building of a golf course at Victoria falls, please do the same about our beautiful bird sanctuary Lochniver, that is being bastardized by these unthinking people who do not believe in posterity.Countries like New Zealand are opposing mining because they want to protect their ecology but in Zambia its all good.Is this one of the reasons Namugala wants to shake up ECZ?
#8 you made me laugh. As an Impala, I would feel very much offended. In human life that is Burglary or armed robbery. As a Buffalo or Elephant, I would incite friends to march to plot 1while attacking all GRZ veihcles on the way and cause chaos at Cabinet offices.
Prospecting for minerals in a national park? Next time it will be in the grounds of State House. These guys are just poachers!! STOP IT!
Ba Kakusa being that you are the MP for Kabwe central take a walk to Railway Systems headoffice and find out what the Concenssion Agreement between Govt and Railway system says. Leaders should not display ignorance in public. GRZ shall continue to own the rail track through Zambia Railways Limited (it still does exist). Hence the resposibility for rehabilitating the rail track lies with govt but just like with the fuel shortage they would like to point the blame to someone else. RSZ pays govt every quater billions of kwachas in concession fees which govt doesn’t want to use to fix the rail track. Wonder where that money goes.
Our country has really gone to the DOGS, these guys dont care about anything only the Dollar my ass………..what the F**** IS WRONG WITH US ZAMBIANS????????????????? LESA TWAFWENI
eeee! this is dangerous oh!
# 18, or is it that dogs have come to Zambia. They are only interested in the money in there pockets. The problem is that there is no way of making our leaders accountable except at election time, nothing whilst they are in office. By the time they are in office, the contracts would have already been signed and enforced. I CRY FOR MY BELOVED ZAMBIA!!!!!
Unfortunelty the same dogs have taken place, you can not combine minning and wild life at the same place at the time.Zambia mother zambia how does such a thing happen
This is being so stup.idy you ministers. Why cant you have a heart for posterity? Just think of it, while your friends are safe guardind their minerals for posterity you in Zambian want to deplete them just in these 100 years. As this is not enough, now you want to poarch all aninmals in the name of mineral mining. What is wrong with RB and his ministers? Please have a heart for us youths, our children and their children children. You cant finish all good things that Zambia has just now. Remember that we die and some are left to live.
MWEFIP.UBA IMWE KWATENI AMANO.
The Zambia Railway infrastructure was handed to Railways System on silver plate. What value have these investors added, Nil. ZR was even doing better but coz of politiking some one some where lined this or her pockets. The reckless plunder of public assets has continued even into the current RB regime.
mara why are our leaders doing this
Nothing upsets more when these disfunctional pipo fail to think any more. Leave these national reserves alone!
SIBAKUBA NYAMA MANJE !
totally unacceptable and short sightedness!
Please, Please can those activities be stopped forth with. Live our National Parks alone. When are we ever going to grow up as a nation? What are we going to live for posterity? We cannot eat everything now for mahala!
So about these national parks – you can’t live there, but you can mine there? Who is giving out licenses to mine the national parks?
Whats the name of that Committee which saved the indigenous pipo’s land in Southern province, when Chief Nalubamba wanted to sell land to foreign investors? Am sure if contacted he’d help out with the indigenous wild life as well….
Leave the animals alone!
Bafikala aba MMD
ALBIDON, I bet most of you bloggers don’t know that Valentine Chitalu is one of the executive directors for Albidon.
And I also bet that some of you bloggers didn’t know that the new Mall and Hotel being built in kitwe has Valentine Chitalu’s name written all over it (Platinum Equity).
Good Lord! Are they that desperate, that they are willing to sacrifice animals in the name of so-called “investments?” This is beyond pathetic. What’s next Luangwa National Park. These guys must go.
I think it is worth considering what will bring more benefit to the Zambians. Is it the Game park or mining activities? What I am saying is after carrying out prospecting activities, a cost benefit analysis should be done to establish what is the better evil. Minnng or tourism?? You must acknowldge that a lot of succesfull economies have their orgins in exploiting their resources even in the face of enviromental degradation. That is why the Worlds three biggest economies( China, America and Japan) are today facing serious pollution problems and are the most reluctant to sign climate change protocols. One request to bloggers is dont insult me or call me names but feel free to comment on our observations.
#36….pollution is not correlated to dull distruction of natural resources-animals. Tell me which country in the world has allowed extinction of its animals? Do you mean pollution means killing all animals at will? The countries you are talking about they pollute- production of GHG because they are heavely envolved in manufacturing and the problem of GHG is a universal one which envolves overriding on other country’s costs of abatement. Thats why they dont want to commit themselves to the Kyoto protocal. The other reason is that they are not most affected by global warming so why should they increase their costs of production through abatement? When it comes to protection of wild life they are the number one. But you guys in Zambia want to wipe away all animals, thats dullness man.
No37 Kambolongo, you seem emotional and you are missing my point. I feel the decision that Government has to make is whether to maINTAIN THE status quo in the name of conversation of natural resouces, namely wildife or exploit minerals in the name of economic development. It is a cost benefit question.. The question should be What will bring bigger returns- mining or conservation ??? And I want to add that the displacemnt of wildlife is and will always be a part of human development , New human settlements and general development will always lead to some harm to widlife. Dont you think Lusaka, Tokyo, Washington and London were at some time full of wild animals.
I must also add that it is a big exageration to say that this means we will kill all the widlife. Note that Lochinvar is only one of the 18 national parks and probably the smallest.W e have the Kafue national park that is 22,000 km in size, Roughly the size of wales.
The train has stopped moving in Zambia. Each GRZ official for him/herself
NADABWA Why is it that our leaders are behavouring lyk total igorant pipo.Dont they know that mines are non renewable.come 2011 we will give them a votes of no confidence
When will MMD ever learn there are things that are priceless in life that should not be sold… MMD are like those chiefs who sold land and people for a beer or mirror. They do not think of the future generation when they make these greedy descisions. To make matters worse these projects do not even help Zambia. They still depend on donor money for education and health. Leave the animals alone they belong to the people of Zambia. MMD You have sold enough things in your 20 years rule. Built very little Zambian industries. GREEDY GREEDY PARTY!!!!!
#42 Mind typo errors I meant greedy decisions. Zambia should promote things like tourism, farming. Long term animals will always be there and balance the eco system. Minerals are a wasting asset. It is wiser to make it a tourist area…..
#36. Do you actually believe that this MMD, with its track thinks along these terms? Do these guys ever think about cost benefit analysis, except when it comes to their own selfish pockets?
The whole purpose of declaring an area a national park is to avoid this sort of activity. This smells of corruption. What controls does GRZ over the activities of these people. What is the level of involvement of govt representatives in these activities? Some smart people should get an injunction to stop these activities so that the legal basis can be heard in court. Is the reason behind national parks only to stop poachers ( Zambians) and not these foreign companies?
I thought that was reserved for the future generations!!