Monday, November 25, 2024

Makeni farmers cry for help as they are inundated with Pollution from AFCON company set up their midst

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Where is ZEMA? As companies continue to pollute the environment to the detriment of the health of residents and their farm produce. Here crops in Makeni covered with quarry dust and other unknown pollutants from AFCON

The Lusaka Roads Decongestion Project by AFCON is welcome by all meaning members of the public, however at what cost is it to the Environment and people in general?

This company has set up a plant in Lusaka Makeni Farming area amidst farmers and human habitat. This is not right as this plant should have been in the industrial area and not in a farming area. This Plant is located at the Kamanga’s farm just after grey Zulu area. They buy quarry from united quarries company for their raw materials and store heaps and mountains of it at the same plant. The Quarry dust blows westwards to the farms and communities which are in the same area.

Secondly the equipment/Crushers on site also emit a discharge which is not known and has also affected the environment in one way or the other. The people living in this area are having health challenges in terms of breathing due to the polluted air that they breathe day in and day out. They don’t even open windows for fresh air, the plants are not spared as can be seen form the attached pictures, crops have gone to waste due to this and thousands of Kwachas have been lost. Even poultry has not been spared.

The Company AFCON has been engaged several times to find out what they are doing about this but despite several meetings nothing has come forth, yet day in and day out they continue to pollute the environment and endanger the people’s lives. Even employees at the farm do not have dust masks as they work at the plant. ZEMA was written to and they came to inspect but no report has been availed ever since.

Questions arise, was an environmental assessment done, if so where is it? Secondly how was approval made for such a plant to be located amidst farms and human habitat . All this can be verified. Is the cost of Lusaka decongestion project at the expense human health and crops as well as the environment at large? This appeal is to have relevant authorities address this matter before lives are lost and more damage is made to our environment.

Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON
Crops on a farm in Makeni Lusaka covered with quarry dust from AFCON

15 COMMENTS

  1. Awe imwe ba PF ikan’koni nzelu mwe! This is becoming unbecoming. What are you hoping for as you push your luck? Muzaononga vintu ma fella imwe!

    • These aren’t peasants in Tafelansoni, Chadiza. They’re middle class and ought to know wht citizen activism is all about. Get off your backside u Makeni residents and do wht you need to do. I won’t even say it because u know it. It doesn’t include writing letters to newspaper editors. Nobody is going to reward your indolence.

    • Nothing is good for Zambians. Awe lishamo. That “pollution” is nothing.
      They will close AFCON and all workers will go back to streets to beat citizens.
      There is nothing wrong with that pollution, ask us who grew up in Kankoyo and Zimba area in Mufulira, we grew up with “senta” discharged. People eat lunch under mango trees with mine dust settling on Kapenta soup like spices!!!
      Brian Mushimba is my witness.

    • @nostradamus you know Zinjanthropus probably rubbed sticks to make fire therefore with your thinking that is what we should also be doing today. Just because you inhaled senta in mufulira doesn’t mean in 2019 we should willing and joyfully inhale quarry dust–I believe the term used is progress. We are trying to be better than we were yesterday. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry that you guys used to eat lunch under mango trees with mine dust settling on Kapenta soup like spices !!!!!

    • This is what happens when the country is being led by 1diots. Zambia is currently lawless as the drunkard in chief, clueless Lungu, is oblivious to what’s gong on in the country. So companies just do whatever the heck they want, knowing that no one will hold them accountable. Fooools are what we have leading the country into the sewer. The damage this company is causing to people’s health and the environment will become a financial burden to the Zambian people, as the victims begin to seek medical attention. And docile Zambians, why do you allow profit driven lawless companies to crap all over your heads? Go to the streets and protest this company. Organize, go out and protest. Go to their site with banners . Stop being docile.

    • Sue the Indian contractor, sue the likes of fake Dr. Mathani who are polluting the environment, financial sector and politics of Zambia. Dog Mathani introduced Aggarwal to late President Mwanawasa to sell KCM for 25 million dollars with mine having bank balance 5 times of that price. Mathani’s bank in Malawi was closed for money laundering and facilitation of illegal transfer of cash to Indian importers. His finance bank was a conduit to expropriate zambians assets and businesses. He was bribing Mpundu and Dan of NAPSA to get billions as deposits to run his mafia financial empire.

      Farmers and residents in Makeni shall Sue Professional Insurance that is insuring these thugs from India.

    • AFCON is cutting all trees along Lusaka roads. They should have been told to uproot and plant them around Lusaka. Will they plant such trees along the roads they have cut all beautiful trees?

  2. Never in Zambia’s history have we had such an incompetent government and government agencies!! Surely why would you set up a quarry in farmland? Sue the ZEMA and sue AFCON for the lost livelihood.Thats the only way people will start doing their jobs. Is there anything PF is doing right.Left Right Centre it’s news about incompetence.Surely Zambia deserves better.

    • This is what happens when you get a thief to lead you, he will use all the tricks in the James Hardley chase book to steal. All this is a serious lesson to all people who are blinded by PF tribalism slogan, let them open their eyes and see the wanton destruction this PF govt is inflicting on our beautiful country. They have taken us back to stone and dark ages!!!!. People will start thinking having electricity for 24 hours is a luxury-watch the space.

  3. This is not acceptable. ZEMA, have you been bribed or you simply incompetent? Follow the free advice of @Nemwine, you might have some movement.

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