KAFUE River in Chingola has been polluted again by mining effluent from Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Tailings Leach Plant (TLP) leaving most of the townships without tap water.
Environmental Council of Zambia inspector Webby Simwayi who rushed to Kafue raw water in-take confirmed the poisoning of the Kafue River, the main source of drinking water for all Copperbelt towns.
He said even without the usage of the apparatus, the copper sulphate was clearly visible on top of the river. He said the dying of marine life was also an indication that the river had been poisoned.
Mr Simwayi said he was happy that Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company(MWSC) had quickly shut down the raw water in-take plant to prevent poisoning of people.
He said water samples had been taken from the in-take point and were given to MWSC and KCM. ECZ had also taken some samples for comparison purposes.
He said ECZ would only produce a pollution report and establish the cause and the exact type of river poisoning after the laboratory analysis.
MWSC managing director Manuel Mutale who was at the plant said the raw water was not safe to be pumped into the townships.
He said the fact that even marine life was found dead prompted his technicians to shut down the in-take plant.
He said the water utility firm was now depending on water from KCM Underground, which he said also needed blending for it to be pumped to selected townships in Chingola.
The areas affected were Kabundi East and South, Riverside, Chiwempala and Town Centre.
A Times staffer who rushed to Kafue River found the peasant farmers living along the river picking the dead fish for consumption.
The fish and other marine life was also found dead along the banks of Kafue River and by 18:00 hours yesterday the river poisoning levels were very high.
[Times of Zambia]
This story will die a natural death. But Zambians will continue to lose lives silently. KCM has been pulluting Kafue river daily. They increase pollution in the rainy season since sampling is rearly done. Zambian life worthless. Uless SATA or HH speaks for us. Collectively the other Zambians keep quite and die quitely due to pollution.
If we are NOT shot at by the CHINESE, Our water is careless polluted by Other Infestors called Investors. Zambian life worthless it seems in the eyes of investors. Attempted Murder Charges must be slapped on the directors of KCM without exception. This is the third serious Pollution incident that has happened at KCM.
This is not the first time this is happening,it has become a routine & slowly being accepted as a normal occurance just because these guys are financing somebody’s campaigns.
(A Times staffer who rushed to Kafue River found the peasant farmers living along the river picking the dead fish for consumption)………….This is the same fish you find in the market being sold at a “cheap” price………10 years later people will be dying of unexplained diseases
Negative Externalities.Tax the pollution imwe guys as if we don’t have economists to advise you on such issues sure.
There should be huge penalties for breaches like this one, that is the only way KCM will put in measures to prevent this from happening. I was in Chingola yesterday and there was no water in the town centre, now I know why.
I REPEAT, You MMD dimwits, Stop pursuing The Post over fake tax “nkongoles” for exposing your inadequacies. Direct you energies at going after KCM who are ripping the country off in Billions of US Dollars, besides engaging in environmentally poor mining methods which have the potential to exterminate entire populations in and around their areas of operations.
What a disaster! soon it will be cholera in the meantime our President is being paraded on TV for having done so well in the last two years.
The trouble is our reknowned econmoist Chibamba kanyama and Sichinga are busy writing novels to fend for themselves. Surely a failing state unless someone has a different version of this sort of state scenario.PEACE.
There is a scramble for mineral water in kitwe,by 15hrs all shops in town had run out of the comodity..it is that serious
What is neuseating is the fact that I expect Humpty Dumpty, RED LIPS and other clonies to talk about such serious issues in there DULL Minded Cabinet instead of focus on issues like ‘abuse of Office’. The pernalty which KCM will pay when found guity is K1,260,000/- ($280/-). They might as well continue poluting because these fat BABOON’s are busy discussing non issues in Cabinet. 2011 Kuya Bebele!!!!!!!
Yaba this is serious.
Yup, and KCM will only pay the nominal fee as a fine instead of bearing the full cost of the clean up. Bloody wagon burners