By SILUMESI MALUMO
MSAZALA Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Daka has called for enhanced security to curb smuggling of gold in his constituency in the Eastern province.
Mr Daka said Zambia had continued to lose millions of dollars due to the illegality which had continued to happen in the province.
The MP told Parliament that foreigners were using loopholes in his constituency to smuggle the mineral.
He said it was important that Mines and Mineral Development Minister, Richard Musukwa, in collaboration with his Home Affairs counterpart, Stephen Kampyongo, provided security in order to
This came to light when Mr Musukwa presented the 2021 budget for his ministry which needed to be supported by all MPs.
Mr Daka appealed tp Government to ensure safety was provided to the cooperatives mining gold in the area.
He disclosed that a number of lives were being lost in the area due to non-adherence to safety by small-scale miners.
Mr Daka said even when such incidences were happening at mining areas they were not being reported to the police.
“As we empower our people we need to ensure that they are protected,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Musukwa said in 2021 Government would continue to issue gold mining licences to the people of Zambia. He told Parliament that Government would ensure that locals were empowered with the licences in order for them to get involved in gold mining.
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