Leader of the Green Party, Peter Sinkamba has said that he expects President Hakainde Hichilema to revoke all mining licenses issued in national parks and other sensitive ecological zones following the re-establishing of the ministry responsible for the environment.
Mr. Sinkamba said that he also expects the President to repeal all laws that allow mining in ecological zones and repossess all land in forest 27, and elsewhere that was aligned to high-ranking officials.
The Green Party leader who has welcomed the re-establishing a Ministry responsible for the environment is of the view that only when president Hichilema takes these proposed steps will Zambians believe that he is not merely talking on the green agenda but genuinely committed to the cause.
Mr. Sinkamba says he also strongly believes in the green agenda and the re-establishment of the ministry is a great sigh of relief after 10 years without a ministry of the environment which was scrapped off by the PF government and allowed mining in national parks and other sensitive ecological zones.
In 2019, President Lungu signed SI No 62 of 2017 degazetting of the Forest number 27, the only forest remaining in Lusaka and a recharge area for chalimbana and Chongwe rivers.
The Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) wrote a letter to Lusaka Province Planning Authority and expressed serious concerns regarding this development since Forest Number 27 is a ground water recharge area and also feeds the river systems in the Chalimbana sub-catchment: “degazetting this forest for residential plots will threaten water resource availability as this may result in some water sources drying up. As such, WARMA is considering declaring Forest 27 as a Water Resource Protection Area as provided in section 29(1) and 93(1) of the WRM Act. We write to your office seeking confirmation if indeed Forest Number 27 is degazatted and if there are plans from your Planning Authority to develop this area as depicted in the attached map from Murray Anderson”.
And in February this year, the Court of Appeals of Zambia dismissed an Appeal to stop the proposed Large Scale Open-pit Mine in Lower Zambezi National Park, upholding the High Court’s decision to dismiss the case for Want of Prosecution.
The Decision by the Court of Appeals sitting in Ndola effectively ended any challenges to Mwembeshi Resources’ proposal to open a Large Scale Open-pit Copper mine at the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park.
In a Judgement delivered by Justice Ngulube on behalf of the three panel Appeals Court bench, the Court ruled that the Appellant had 5 years and had been given numerous opportunities to rectify errors in the Appeal before the High Court but was lax and failed to do so until a change of legal representation in 2019.
The Court was adamant that the Appellant (David Ngwenyama) had been adequately represented by a senior lawyer (State Counsel H.H. Ndhlovu) from 2014 to 2019 before he decided to change Legal Counsel in 2019 and subsequently tried to rectify the errors in the Appeal.
In dismissing the Appeal, the Court of Appeals completely ignored the misconduct and failure to provide adequate representation by the original Appellants Lawyer which the Appellant tried to rectify in 2019 and a four (4) year delay by the High Court to rule on the case, from April 2015 to October, 2019 that was the result of the error in the Appeal Process (failure to file a Record of Appeals) and delay in prosecuting the matter.
The Court of Appeals therefore, followed the High Court in dismissing the Appeal on failure to follow procedure without considering the Appeal on its merits and has faulted the Appellant for failure to prosecute and delays in the Appeal.
I have been wondering what Bally meant by Ministry of Green Economy, so it’s chamba business?
THAT WILL BE WONDERFUL NEWS YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
WILDLIFE WILL FAR OUTLAST MININING VENTURES SO FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL BENIFIT
The agenda of the Green Party is rather limited, and very much related to the interests of the leaders. Not a word on restrictions on charcoal burning and the continuous chopping of trees, not a word on the import of old polluting cars from mostly Japan; cars which are prohibited on the roads there! Get your act together!
@No Corruption Zambia,
Well noted, and that is what happens when the checks&balances are based on self-visibility instead of idealogy. These nonentities are trying to drive their agendas through HH, on things they themselves failed to convince the Zambian People on.
THAT WILL BE WONDERFUL NEWS
WILDLIFE WILL FAR OUTLAST MINING VENTURES SO FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL BENIFIT
He has no MP, no councilor, no party spokes person, no person in any province and he is still a leader of an opposition party. Trying to be very relevant
Good point Sinkamba he definitely needs to act given that his party was against all these ….sadly the messenger as well Sinkamba was in bed with PF before the elections so its ironic for him to state such when he threw his green credentials out of the window. I just can not trust Sinkamba any more he is more of a capitalist business man than a Green Party activists…you are no different to Fred Meembe
Anti Jokes Unit – Green Party is a company out to serve the interests of its one man leader even Hamududu who came on the scene recently has put a body in Parliament he was campaigning whilst this Sinkamba was cozing with Kampyongo even paying his illegal Ministerial salary
President Sinkamba has a number of progressive ideas especially with regard to the green economy and commercializing the growing of marijuana as a cash crop. How I wish he could work with the current Government on these progressive issues for the benefit of our ailing economy!
For sure forests and game parks should be left for future generations…….
Lungu was a reckless thieving drunk with no regard for the environment……
They even wanted to sell vic falls to Chinese investors was it not for chief mukuni
He’s was to sell everything and mine anywhere……..
It is a valid request, the creation of that mininstr and the promise of diversifying from mining means the UPND should value our green resources and wildlife. However, HH has land in forest 27 and he worked in the economic valuation for Mwembeshi Mines and played a role in the grant of the mining licence.
Additionally, the court is involved in the mining licence in the lower Zambezi, we cannot ask the executive to override the Judiciary.
I support the Climate changes effects concerns though the whole Article sounds spiteful and venomous. Sinkamba is speaking from the background of PF accusation that HH owns shares in a mining company that wanted to Invest in a named National Park but HH had denied having shares at all and threated to sue. Sinkamba is also of the view that HH or the Wife owned a plot in Forest 27 as was alleged by PF.
Let us be genuine and independent in thinking.
The ruling was made by our courts of law so by revoking the licenses ( good as it may be) will infringe on the rule of law.
Sometimes you wonder about what these people the so called opposition are all about,today they say this ,tomorrow that and its high time this people stop taking us for granted,people like you the Green party,FDD,EEP by Tembo and other affiliated parties to the now opposition party should just keep quiet.Let the large opposition PF party be offering checks and balances together with those with seats in parliament.Parties with no direction.
@OJ SIMPSON ,
So clearly Sinkamba has a hidden agenda, if HH does move per his agenda, he will have a reason to accuse HH based on baseless PF accusations.
I have an issue accepting such type of Checks & Balances which are politically motivated to fulfill hidden agendas.
Me too and so should the rest of our country. Whether it will happen is another matter because the highest bidder of Zambia plc is looking for payback time.
I also have the same expectations as chamba smoking Peter. Let’s wait and see if our expectations will be fulfilled.