Zambia’s second largest copper and cobalt producer has had a new mining project suspended after the government decided it failed to meet environmental standards, an official said on Tuesday.
Edward Zulu, the director of the Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ), said a leach plant project at Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), a joint venture of Swiss firm Glencore International AG and Canada’s First Quantum Minerals , had been suspended.
“We did write to Mopani yesterday telling them to suspend the leach (plant) project until they implement what is in the environmental impact assessment report,” Zulu said on state television.
The ban comes only days after the government summoned Mopani officials to explain what authorities described as acid contamination in drinking water pumped to residents in a mining area.
Government officials said Mopani had been negligent and had caused the water contamination. They also ordered further investigations into how the water got polluted.
Dozens of residents in Mufurila, 450 km (281 miles) north of Lusaka, were treated at a local hospital for vomiting and diarrhoea last week after they drank water suspected to have been polluted with acid.
Mopani is one of several copper and cobalt mines carrying out infrastructure expansions and upgrades to boost copper production, which is Zambia’s economic lifeblood.
Folks is our country so dumb that it cannot provide cleaning and catering services to our new investors from abroad? See story below;
Kansanshi Mining parts company with local contractors
KANSANSHI Mining Plc in Solwezi has done away with Zambian contractors providing cleaning and catering services, and will instead engage foreign companies.
According to a joint letter by Kansanshi contracts officer, Franques Lee and commercial manager, Bill Allen, the local companies stopped providing
services to Kansanshi on December 31, 2007.
The service contracts included provision of catering services at Kansanshi Mine, cleaning of the village and golf estate, Simba school, plant and town offices.
“Kansanshi hereby confirms that the above contracts will be in force until 31 December 2007. Kansanshi will be awarding this contract to another company whose tender has been selected after a full valuation,” reads the letter co-signed by Mr Lee an
reads the letter co-signed by Mr Lee and Mr Allen.
The letter of November 20, 2007, obtained in Solwezi at the weekend, says Kansanshi would not be liable for any payments in lieu of notice for employees terminated after 31 December 2007.
The cleaning services had been given to Mr Clean, a South African company, while a Ghanaian company, Allterian Services Group (ATS) had taken over catering services at the mine.
The two companies have since opened offices at Kansanshi mine plant.
Can the government tell us if these arrogant investors have got its support over these demeaning actions. They are not only demeaning but they are robbing the country of support industry that is supposed to be sprouting around the establishment of new mines. If a mine in South Africa were to obtain cleaning services from Zambia or Ghana there would be a big COSATU strike
I am not supporting the new inversitor, but having worked as a buyer at one of the mines in zambia, i think most of the zambian controctor are nothing but one man with a brief case, the barrow bank stetement from other people, they do not have equipment to use, and if asked they bring in the same stuff that four or six other controctors have brought in and all of them climing it is their equipment.In short they are not worth talking about.
#6 JB, you are very right. I know that to a lot of Zambians, cleaning and catering contracts need not be such a big deal. However, the owners of Kansanshi have high standards to uphold. Sadly, our country folk are not big on standards. It is even a tall order to get two or more Zambians to form a business partnership without one of them trying to swindle his partners.
Cont’d from 7 … Recently a young man I know entered into a partnership with some friends. As soon as they were awarded a contract by a Norwegian firm, his friends ambushed him and beat him to within an inch of his life. All because he was the principal partner. When this blew up, the contract was withdrawn. They could all have made a lot of money had they just behaved like decent human beings.
I\’m impressed by your writing. Are you a professional or just very knowledegbale?
#6 is absolutely right. Not only do contractor lack equipment and neccessary tools, they also collude with company buyers to cheat around and get jobs from well meaning contractors. At the end of it all pipo get shady jobs done for them coz someone compromised their position on the job coz they want a cut from the contract. Unless we improve on our delivery we shall continue to wallow in poverty and second-rate work.
Folks we are not discussing bankrupt barefooted Zambian businessmen and women but the tens and tena of life of inocent residents that were at risk after drinking contaminated water simply because some ***** did not do his job well. To me the whole bunch of investor they are a waste of white skin.
Zambian contractors do not believe in value for money. Provided a cheque is prepared at the month end Life goes on and to hell with the level of service they are offering. Catering is a very diverse service especially when you look at issues such as tastes, cultural backgrounds, acceptable international catering service standards etc Most of the local catering services contractors do not even meet the least of all the qualifications/expectations. Anyway who is ready to accept shoddy service in
name of promoting Zambian businessmen. To get the best lets invest in quality.
Mwanawasa na ma investors yakwe baipaya abantu through pollution and ukujuba utuma contract!
Now I need CITIZEN’s comment on the ECZ report on Mopani negligence and water contaminations!! Is he here today?
He called us “komboni wives” because his fake analysis misdirected him to the extent that he could not see the simple reality behind the issue.
For non-performing Zambian contractors, its time to reap what they sow!
This good.. We Zambians have to get serious when we are offered a contract. All this bad habits are bring us down.. I know that it is hard but, we cant compromise standards.
We need pipo with good moral standing and exemplary, excellent business ethics and acumen to be invested in and supported to take over from these crooks who are never ashamed of themselves.
We need to clean ourselves from these local infestors..Twachula sana
#13 Keyser Soze, ati how?
Ba CITIZEN nabashima lelo. Looks like this man belongs to the family of tree of Prsdnt Mwawa sana
Mopani need to compensate these families and ECZ and Court give a punishment of investing a certain percentage of their profits towards correcting the environment and pipo’s life they destroyed. this should be for the period of 15 years. Any future breach within the period should attract some more penalties points including shutting down the plant or forced to sell. SAFETY is critical in mining and the Environment. We need investors both local and foreign of high corporate responsibilities
#17, HK,
I can’t agree with you more. Meeting medical costs only is not enough. Victims have to be adequately compensated if MCM and other polluting investors!
14 and 16 Iwe LEX
i don’t know what your excitement is all about. The suspention is for a new leach plant project which is not meeting the environmental impact assement earlier submitted and approved by ECZ. It is a suspention and not a cancellation and will be lifted shortly when MCM meets these benchmarks.
As for the water table it is not at dispute that it was contaminated by acid, it is also not in dispute that MCM were negligent.The fact is that by the time water was treated and pumped
to consumers in various townships of Mufulira it was fit for consumption. NWASCO the water authorities have confirmed that the Acid was not the cause of the illness to the poeple in Kantanshi.If the acid caused the illness the health authorities would have already issued a statement. Environmental council of Zambia have not said the poeple got sick from drinking acid contaminated water. It is only the politicians who reason like you who have been making wild allegations and statements.
The symptons and rapidity of infection within certain limits and reservations points to an outbreak of a waterborne desease such as dengue fever. Let the heath authorities carry out a thorough health audit, otherwise we might be neglecting a much more serious problem.
I am surprised by Zambians lack of self-confidence. Are you guys telling me Zambia with its numerous graduates from Evelyn Hone Hotel & Catering school and Copperbelt University Business school can fail to run a restaurant? Are you telling me Zambian businessmen are unable to borrow 20,000 dollars from a bank to form a cleaning company that can satisfy Kansanshi requirements? That I wont believe. Some of the guys I have seen running such companies in the UK do not even have these qualifications
I have stated here. I know some Nigerian blokes who just pumped in the money they dont know anything about cleaning but they employed people who know and the businesses are running quite well without any problems. Zambia has about 3 million adults Are all these unable to come up with initiatives to run small companies? Is this still a nation that is so mentally colonised that it looks for solutions outside its own borders all the time?
#22&23 The Zambian with the qualifications you allude to is nowhere near the business of contracting in the mines. Getting loans in Zed is difficult & expensive. The people you left on Katondo street are now the contractors for the mines. They refuse to buy proper gear and equipment for their workers. A divergent view warrants been fired. They always look for short cuts in everything. They never spend money on improv quality of their services but are fast to buy BMWs from the cheqs they get.
It is clear to hear all these coments from the citizens and non of this country.
The engangement with the foreighn contractors is somehow beneficial to the majority of solwezi residents because it has brought the system which had not been their with the bresmas and the
The system is now eneque and the service is total monitored.
Despite luck of understanding, misstreating of workers, so in that to some reasonasble people like i feel like nobody when im mistreated at work.
For i once worked with ATS as a house keeper Despite beign cycologically tortuured in mind every day i report for work, i decided to stop and at the moment im just struggling wih my secretarial service.
Im Likely to get back to ATS Contractor for i just want to contribute to their service from the moment.
I missed my friends the mr David Walkers, Mr philus and the new bos for the philipinos and the indonesians Mr ADI.
But remember not to misstreat the citizen because every foreighner is here because of the citizens of this countryzambia.
Emen Zambia.
I think what we can say over the contractors which are engaged with kansanshi is that. they are not doing their atmost because if you at the services the ATS Contractors are offering, you would find that 75 % of clients are fully daily complaining about the ATS. This not only to the clients but including the employees of the ATS are day and night complaining about the services and the salaries. Now on this matter am very much concern because i have friends and relatives who works from ATS and now thinking the way they are being misstreated as if there are no presidents who deliver the citizens of the country. Employees at ATS are getting k300,000 and k400,000. Please just puck these ATSs Ok