Governance and Environmental Management specialist Reuben Lifuka has charged that mining in Lower Zambezi National Park should not be justified simply because there are other activities that cause damage to the environment.
Reacting to an earlier statement issued by Mwembeshi Resources nodding to mining in the national park pointing out that charcoal burning is causing more damage to the environment than mining, Mr Lifuka said the comparison does not make sense.
Mr Lifuka said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations require consultations with statutory consultees like the Mines Safety Department, Department of National Parks as well as other interested parties.
He explained that the ZEMA Board only sits and makes a decision, then issues the decision Letter for public disclosure of an EIA within a set minimum of 21 days.
“This was not the case during the awarding of mining rights to Zambezi Resources Limited. The whole process was exhausted within a week and ZEMA approved,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Lifuka has observed that many leaders of resource-rich countries, due to lack of foresight, sacrifice long term benefits for short-term gains in the form of low paying jobs and limited tax returns by investors.
Mr Lifuka said most of the investors in extract minerals, make their profits and leave indigenous settlers in mining areas as poor as before.
Mwembeshi Resources Limited holds the licence for the mine situated in Lower Zambezi National Park.
Close to a decade of delays and obfuscations, the High Court dismissed the case on a legal technicality in favour of Mwembeshi in 2018.
The final appeal to the Court of Appeal of Zambia was dismissed in a judgement delivered by Justice Ngulube in February 2021, marking the end of any legal challenges to stop the mining operations.
The final barrier was the validity of the decision letter from ZEMA granting mining rights and the issued EIA report gave a green light to the mining activities in the area.
