Farmers reject K2, 000 Kafue pollution compensation

By MUKWIMA CHILALA

THE people affected in the Kafue River pollution have accused the government of complicity and colluding with the foreign Chinese company to give them peanuts for compensation.
Ronxgin and Sino Metals pollution are alleged to have committed to pay compensation to affected farmers from the tailings dam pollution.
But speaking at a joint briefing, the farmers complained that the compensation package was inadequate as they were being given as little as K2, 000.
Meanwhile, other community members on the Copperbelt and in North-Western Province have raised concern over increasing pollution and inadequate compensation from mining activities, saying their livelihoods and dignity are being eroded in the name of development.
The residents of Mufulira, Chingola, Kalusale, Chambishi, Mbonge (Solwezi), and Dengwe (Kasempa) said mining, while central to the country’s economy, has left them grappling with unsafe water sources, degraded farmland, and displacement without fair redress.
The affected communities lamented that mining companies continue to displace families and pollute rivers and streams, yet offer little or no compensation.
The communities have since demanded that Government, mining companies, and regulators act with urgency to guarantee fair compensation, implement a clear resettlement and relocation policy, and ensure pollution-free environments for all.
Meanwhile, the Pamoja Critical Minerals Alliance (PCMA) – Zimbabwe Chapter has joined the Zambian civil society in raising alarm over the toxic waste disaster caused by Sino-Metals Leach on February 18, 2025, which released more than 50 million litres of acidic effluent into the Kafue River.
The dam collapse at Sino-Metals Leach, located in the Chambishi Multi-Facility Economic Zone, left a trail of devastation including burning crops, killing livestock and destroying the livelihoods of more than 300, 000 rural farmers in Zambia.
Environmentalists say the contamination posed long-term risks to communities in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique as the Kafue feeds into the Zambezi River, a lifeline for millions, and eventually into the Indian Ocean.
In a statement, the Alliance said the disaster is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of corporate impunity by foreign-owned mining companies operating in Zambia.
Apart from Sino-Metals, three other companies namely Rongxing Investments, Mimbula Mine operated by Moxico Resources of Britain, and Ozone Mine had also been linked to repeated toxic discharges into Zambia’s river systems.