KCM faces lawsuit pollution

Wed, 04 Jan 2017 14:30:20 +0000

By PRISCA LUMINGU-BANDA

KONKOLA Copper Mines (KCM) risk being sued if investigations will establish that the mining company has been polluting water streams in Chingola, Water, Sanitation and Environment Protction Minister Lloyd Kaziya has warned.

Chingola residents have accused Government of shielding KCM over the pollution of streams in the mining area by the mining company.

Recently over 100 Chingola residents met at Protea Hotel to complain about water streams from which they were drawing their drinking water having been polluted, resulting into the death of  children in the area.

The minister said he had sent a team of experts from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) to assess the situation and the pollution levels in the area.

“I have sent a team of experts from ZEMA to assess the pollution levels and if we feel that pollution levels are higher, Government will have no option but to take KCM to task. We will have to consider taking KCM to court if investigations will establish that in fact water streams have been polluted,” Mr. Kaziya said.

He said Government would take KCM to task if the investigations being conducted by ZEMA would reveal that the pollution levels were high and endangering the lives of people.

He assured the residents that his office was waiting for the report from ZEMA and that action would be taken against the mining company depending on the findings.