Zambia’s First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda says mining operations in the Lower Zambezi valley poses a huge threat on wildlife and the ecosystem.
Dr Kaunda noted that the Lower Zambezi valley has supported generations of Zambians hence the need to protect the area, against all forms of environmental hazards, which in turn affect the ecosystem.
The country’s founding father further feared for the people living around the Lower Zambezi valley, should the mining activities proceed.
ZANIS reports that Dr Kaunda shared his sentiments when a delegation from Grass Roots Trust paid a courtesy call on him at his residence in Lusaka today.
And speaking earlier, Zambia’s renowned artist Humphrey Mwila commonly known as Cactus, thanked Dr Kaunda for adding his opinion on the Lower Zambezi mining debate.
He said there is need to join hands and stop the proposed mining venture, if the country is to score positives towards safeguarding our environment from various effects.
Mr Mwila explained that most of the animals in the park will migrate to neighbouring countries, in fear of the safety and well being, should the mining activities be allowed, thereby affecting the tourism sector negatively.
KK is almost always right.
Keep the old man out’a this podium before upndead ingrates shower insult on our founding father.
Whatever happened to those cabinet ministers where the issue of LZNP was discussed.
Kalaba was highly incompetent on the issue. He should have unequivocally resigned for the cause of protecting that Natural Resource. Kalaba’s account on this issue leaves much to be desired.
This great man of the soil cares for this country.
I hope Lungu is sober when he reads what this great man has said.
Not everything in life is about profits.
Why is it that where ever Chitotela goes, he raises dust? A lot of dust in fact.
Why is he obsessed with displacing our wildlife?
Even the wild dogs are gone.
Brother it is pf in power and no one else stop blaming everyone else except your own party and the leader of the party is….???
A very wise man! I miss you KK. Africa’s best leader!
My real President has spoken and given you guidelines. Ba PF, now act. Your constant blames and accusation on HH as a private and opposition leader shows how incompetent the PF government has been thus far and continues to be. You have been playing the privatization song to date, I wonder how long you will be singing the new version called the “Lower Zambezi Mining saga”. Only a fu.u.l can believe your dirty games and smear campaigns. Please, take responsibility and act on calls that affect the common Zambian. You are focussing on silencing opposition, the best way to show PF value is by your government showing results. You had roads that you did Sontapo, now your minister wants to re-visit that Ndola/LK. A Signs of failure. Zero action on load-shedding, Corruption, etc. That is where…
Kalaba and Kambwili, overnight millionaires with $10,000 dollar watches
Well done my friend Humphrey Mwila aka Cactus Agony, good positive vibes coming from you. We salute your cause and we appreciate our founding father KK
Every month there is a new scandal in PF, we are in sh1rt, these people have no morals no direction…they don’t stand for anything…
Lungu has chewed money from that proposed mine ……..why is he silent ???
Why is lungu silent ?????
Has he already recived kickbacks ???
As usual, Lungu is quite on this and most of his m!nions are quite save for that deranged ‘lawyer’.
Lungu will never comment on any challenge or problem under his regime. He just hopes it takes care of it self. On the economy: zeeeee, on meali meal: zeeeee, on debt: zeeee, on electricity: zeeeee, on pf and upnd gun violence: zeeeee. Why was this man elected? To collect a free salary?
This was a done deal long before Ecl took over from MCS.
@Dear Spaka,
You are invited to the next upcoming ECL morning run or tarmac briefing where he will be sharing his thoughts on the next country visit and also outline his plans on how to curb media misuse.
Please be forewarned that, he has not yet made up his mind on issues concerning the economy, Corruption, wheelbarrows and anything related to rural areas development or building of schools to get rid of those horrible structures we have seen as classrooms. No questions on Load-shedding will be entertained as well. The president has not formulated his opinion to the above-mentioned topics yet and his advisers are working on it day and night. Thank you for your patience.
@4.2 GMS
The mine was shelved under sata only recently revived under lungu……..is that a coincidence ???
We hope our President will listern.If he goes ahead and do mining Zambian will flush him out in 2021.I love wildlife therefore my vote for Lungu will depend on gthis one.
Government please listen to the peoples outcry what u are doing is wrong
Good advice your Excellency.
We should remember that in Kaunda’s time there was not even a single road or a safari lodge in the whole National Park, only some freedom fighter camps in the 1970s e.g. at Kavalamanja, landmines and other ERW remaining from the Rhodesian war (although for any tourists or investors reading, these have gone a long time ago). Tourism infrastructure was first created when the park was opened for investment after 1991, and it has had a beneficial effect on the area and animal populations, as well as job creation in the area.
It’s common sense to vigorously scrutinise the question of whether mining there should be allowed, even if there may be precedents in other parts of the world and in the region of the two activities of tourism and mining coexisting…
…coexisting successfully – the best possible scenario would be for the nation and the local population to enjoy the benefits of both activities simultaneously, rather than going for extreme or emotional positions which are not based on facts or expertise but opinions and personal interests.
The ecosystem not only supports the locals, but its part of the earth’s life gene pool. You need to shut up now. We love our national parks.
Mining in the park can be done as long as environmental mitigation measures are strictly followed. Mining will bring much more revenue for the country than tourism.
If you are failing to bring much more revenue from the mines you already have , what makes you think you will get any richer by destroying game parks for more mines ???
This kind of desperation is what is most dangerous to our people. You can’t sell out everything you own for revenue. You’ve been selling out copper, selling out emeralds, even selling out your traditional values and culture. What next? You want to sell out the whole country and become slaves and squatters on the land of your birth?
@ Ba Nine Chale,
Naimwe, Zambians are already slaves to their own government, it can’t be better than this. So you should know what is next.
You are in Germany, tefyo, are you aware the embassy cant send you a letter because they have no money, you have to send a self-addressed letter? In the Kaunda era that was not the case.
Tourism has brought billions for the Philippines, more so than any mining could have ever done. Plus with tourism you as a nation can control it. Think and don’t just comment for the sake of commenting.
Now after seeing this backlash they will stop mining activities so that they can claim to be a listening government when it was the same government that started the mess in the first place
lets stop these nonsense from PF, NO mining in the park
How many zambians have benefited from the tourism in lower zambezi? Very few. Lower zambezi has the largest collection of racist lodge and safari operators. They prefer white tourists and zambians as casual workers. Let the mine commence so that our engineers are employed. It’s not the whole park that will be disturbed. Let those who eat the your operators cry. Let us who want development rejoice. Animals can be relocated. Poverty can’t. Even where Kcm, maamba, mopani, bwana mkubwa, kalumbila, kassnshi, etc are, there were animals that relocated elsewhere. When displacing people you don’t complain but busy defending game meat
When it comes to political ideology is where are you from? When it comes to wealth distribution is “one Zambia one nation.”
When it comes to record keeping on wealth distribution Zambian government is less than forthcoming.
Things need to change.
UPND followers sometimes learning to follow national issues in good faith.The issues of mining in LZNP started with Late Mwanawasa .ZEMA opposed the matter even in court of law because obviously it was going to affect echo system.History has it that HH was also involved.He pocked $1.2million over the same LZNP matter.Surprisingly ,the whole UPND fanatics cast the blaming on Lungu who just met this fate a few years ago.Moreover, PF government has already taken a further step to listen to the concerns of people.
How do you feel about accusing, insulting and hatred of Lungu every day? If PF was as bitter and hatred as UPND wouldn’t have formed a government 2011.
Lungu as president is expected to address the nation on matters concerning Zambians , no ?
Or do we only speculate on social media ?
Hh pocketed $12m from this deal, why is ECL in the picture?? When Kalaba overruled ZEMA, Sata was president, why mention ECL??? It’s pure hatred by you tribalists. Evil in its purest form. No wonder Zambians in 7 provinces fear to vote for you.
@Dear Sp.aka,
You are invited to the next upcoming ECL morning run or tarmac briefing where he will be sharing his thoughts on the next country visit and also outline his plans on how to curb media misuse.
Please be forewarned that, he has not yet made up his mind on issues concerning the economy, Corruption, wheelbarrows and anything related to rural areas development or building of schools to get rid of those horrible structures we have seen as classrooms. No questions on Load-shedding will be entertained as well. The president has not formulated his opinion to the above-mentioned topics yet and his advisers are working on it day and night. Thank you for your patience.
KAUNDA has UNIPISH IDEAS PLEASE LEAVE HIM ALONE LET HIM ENJOY HIS RETIREMENT FROM DICTATORSHIP OTHERWISE HE DOESNT MEAN WELL IN HIS ADVICE, HE IS DIRECTLY OPPOSING PF SO CAN HE DECLARE TO BE IN OPPOSITION? WE TAKE HIM KA
I hate to displace people or wild animals or indeed to destroy the enviroment which would affect the ecosystems.
People and some animals were displaced in order to pave way for mining in the folliwing areas:
1.Copperbelt mines
2.lumwana mines
3.kansanshi mines
4.maamba mines
5.People and animals were diplaced to build the kariba dam.
Lower Zambezi will eventually suffer the same fate , it is just a matter of time.
We may believe that mining in Lower Zambezi could be bad for the country but misusing the old man is not the way to go. I strongly believe that someone just wrote the message for the old man to read so that they can feel supported. This is wrong and barbaric. Let the old man relax instead of clouding him with things that are meant to push our uncoordinated selfish agendas. Fight your own battles alone!
Disaster!!!
Africans we should be United with care our Presidents especially in Africa there are after profit backdated to salve trade. Zim and Zambia is one at lower Zambezi. .eg if Zambians should be reach by now every Zambian should be a millioner with copper only. Zim with Diamond the same. Thanks to our only old man only one left on the region Kaunda. KK 11.
We have to unity as a country, A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
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