In the midst of a grave situation at the Senseli Open-pit mine in Chingola, President Hakainde Hichilema has extended a compassionate plea to the families of approximately 30 miners currently trapped underground. During a meeting at the Chingola Civic Centre, the President urged calm and patience among the affected families, assuring them that the government is exerting every effort to conclude the rescue operation successfully.
President Hichilema, accompanied by government officials, expressed empathy for the families’ distress and urged them not to begin mourning but to focus on prayer, hoping for the safe retrieval of their loved ones. In a gesture of immediate support, the President provided ten thousand Kwacha each to the affected families, acknowledging their endurance and resilience during this challenging period.
“Our heartfelt appreciation also goes to the family members who have patiently endured, keeping vigil at the site while awaiting any news about their loved ones. We express our deepest sympathy and understanding of their anguish.The small-scale miners engaged in these activities are our fellow Zambians, whom the UPND government is committed to empowering with mining skills and equipment. This empowerment aims to ensure safe mining practices and prevent tragic accidents.
Fellow citizens, in the face of past tragedies, we have set aside our differences and united, working and praying together as one nation under one God.
Today, we witnessed the industrious and hardworking nature of our people, showcasing their determination to earn a living. Therefore, it is our duty as a government and as a people to harness our human resources by facilitating a secure work environment through stringent safety regulations,” President Hichilema said
A representative of the affected families, Dorothy Kangwa, conveyed gratitude to the government for its support and the initiation of the rescue operation. The President’s visit and personal interaction with the families underscored the government’s commitment to standing in solidarity with those affected by the tragic incident.
In a separate address to the nation, President Hichilema expressed admiration for the dedicated rescue teams working tirelessly to save the trapped miners. His visit to the mine emphasized not only the gravity of the situation but also the government’s dedication to leading with empathy and action during times of crisis.
The unfolding events have captivated the nation, shedding light on the challenges and emotional toll faced by individuals and families directly affected by mining accidents. As the rescue teams continue their arduous task, the focus remains on the trapped miners and their families, with the collective hope and prayers of the nation echoing for a swift and successful rescue operation.
10 pin? That’s about $400. Awe sure Ba UPND mwapona apa pena
Photo shoot gone wrong. The president in a hard hat while the rest of the masses nothing. So ninshi only the president needed to be protected from head injuries while his followers remained exposed?
@Safety Officer…..Good observation . Even the Minister of Mines Paul Kabuswe is wearing a hard hat. What for ? Pretending to be safety compliant? If the place is hard area , why allow all those hundreds on site without hard hats and appropriate PPE???
A ZAMBIAN UK & USA BASED REGULAR LUSAKATIMES BLOGGER HAS JUST DONATED $135,000.00 TO HELP THE FAMILIES OF TRAPPED MINERS YESTERDAY. UPND GOVERNMENT PLEASE DO NOT POCKET THIS MONEY. THIS IS A SELFLESS DUTY BY OUR BROTHER. GOD BLESS YOU BIG MAN.
# Yoga
I know you live in Denmark like myself going by your past comments talking about Denmark. We know the blogger, its @INDEPENDENT OBSERVER who made this contribution 3 days ago. Slow down you are shooting too quick, UPND will have no role how this money will be used. The donation was through a Denmark Charity based in Zambia who are reaching out to all the distraught families. We expect fatalities the longer it takes. I am affiliated to this charity. Its actually £135,000.00 Pound Stirling and not US Dollars.
Its the rule of the fawners; a.k.a. the rule of the Hamasakas. Unfortunately Idi Amin is not on earth or you could have asked him for a more authentic answer: In a dictatorship everyone tries very hard to impress one man; the President. So they will try and do the right things only around the President. They know a dictator will not be bothered about other citizens’ rights as long as he isnt denied his priviledges
## Bo Nawa
Point taken. I just double checked the amount. I also just read some stuff online about the Danish charity in particular. Overall, its good our fellow Zambian is doing this to help out. I can see some people are giving me thumbs downs on my comments. How can someone hate a good will such as this by giving a thumbs down. It says a lot about Zambians.
# Yoga
I just wanted to assure you, no politician will touch the funds we have raised since this mining tragedy dawned on our people. I don’t follow Zambian politics neither do to I support any political party. I left Zambia in 2001 for Denmark. If anything I follow and understand Danish politics.
#Yoga… and this is the person cheap thugs like Tikki want to insult on social media. May his pocket continue filling and spilling over to help those in dire need.
Give them money for what? They were engaged in an illegal activity and got in trouble for it, and some of you are crying that he has not given them enough money? Why should the government give them money? Where is the government getting this money from, because the country is completely broke? When the Chiluba cut off chemical supply to the cattle dips in Southern Province, and 2 million cows died, did he give the people there any compensation? He refused to help in the resulting famine, saying that the the people of Southern Province had cows, and they should use them to save themselves. No, HH should rescue the miners, and then leave them to their own devices. Lesson learned.
The MP is asked on the situation of trapped miners in Chingola on a TV breakfast show, and the man is talking about Given Lubinda. This country needs healing. And he goes into politics instead
The so called MP is party to this calamity.
The man comes for a photo opportunity even when he clearly knows that families are desperate for answers and news. Where is the DMMU, why has it taken so long for help to arrive. Do people only work when the president is on site or is this government creating situations which gives a false perspective of a working president? Everything about this man is turning out to be fake. Soon we shall see a deep fake AI version of him pretending to fix everything.
I posted this but was censored: Its the rule of the fawners; a.k.a. the rule of the Hamasakas. Unfortunately Idi Amin is not on earth or you could have asked him for a more authentic answer: In a dictatorship everyone tries very hard to impress one man; the President.
If HH was around during the independence struggle he would have definitely joined the Federal Party… the party belonging to whites. He would have definitely been a member of the Upper Roll of the legislature.
There’s everything wrong with Zambians. When there was a blast at BGRIMM explosives factory at Chambishi in April 2005 that killed around 50 people, there was no proper record of the workers on that shift. There wasn’t a proper record of visitors and even the number of casualties was estimated from the people that lost relatives at the time and suspected that they could have gotten to the factory. We have well trained occupational health and safety experts but with these occurrences, don’t you think that those qualifications are useless? The President gets to a mine accident site and no one knows the number of casualties? K10,000 is enough to hold drinking funerals
He has told people not to mourn because he was told by freemas0n leader that for sacrifice to work there should be no mourning
MILES SAMPA EXPELS MORE MP’S
MAYBE PF WILL BECOME A CREDIBLE PARTY IN THE FUTUTE
What has expelling mp’s from PF has anything to do with the nation grappling about miners trapped in an open pit. Just how shallow and cold calculated are. It says a lot about how bad your parents brought you up. Ooooh You are yakumboyo.
Tikki
Man go F**k Yourself. The nation is at pain…………….
@@@ Tikki
Very sad that a normal person can compare people trapped underneath a mine to what Miles Sampa foooolishness. You are very satanic and evil.
Tikki now I know why Upnd are failing…. you are all village dunderheads. Mixing tragedy with Miles rubbish. Shows that HH is behind the shambles in opposition. It won’t save him.
“” Tikki
Your *ss is tikkling yearning to to pumped.
This is not contributing to the debate, and plight of whats going on in Chingola. And this GAY sick person who deeps his manhood in someone dirty hole, decides to bring in Sampa and PF.
# TIKKI
You are a FOOOOOL who comes to lusakatimes acting intelligent. What? Really !!!!
@ Tikki…. must be ignored as most you have noted from his post. Sad and pathetic thinking mind.
He tries too hard to compete with @Independent Observer, @Deja Vu, @Ayatollah, @FutureZed, etc. But all these bloggers are too intelligent and wiser than him. Such is the caliber of people representing HH on lusakatimes.
10 pin it’s better you don’t even donate.
In normal countries the minister would have resigned…a search and rescue or search and retrieve at a mine site requires certain expertise. You cannot have so many people at an ‘illegal’ site and expect to accomplish the mission..the presence of so many headless people appearing on site is distorting the soil structure and the actual location of the missing…the site should have been secured and sealed off for experts who understand land and mining areas…otherwise the longer the guys stay in the ground?
No amount of money will compensate for the loss until the minister resigns and acknowledges his failure and the owners of the mine are jailed. Giving out money will only encourage wrong doing… yes we just pay their families and we continue with our business.
Please report. Dont propagandize!!!!
“In a gesture of immediate support….!!”
What immediate? This didnt happen yesterday!
These are being posted by the state house press team.
Chikundo Malinga at Force HQ in an interrogation stated “I was Kaizars boyfriend for three years.” The report reaching is that Kaizar dated a young man’s girlfriend at Apex and asked the young lady to introduce him to her boyfriend so that it is not awkward between them. To the young lady’s surprise, upon seeing text messages between the two, realized that the two were engaged in an affair. The young lady upon advice of her friends ended the relationships with both and took an HIV test.
Bollocks
Just shut up and thank Lungu for allowing you into State House. Had we had a better president than Lungu your HH would be busy interfering with the presidential motorcade..
Not him in the motorcade.
It seems to me that there’s no real sense of urgency to get those people out. The event has been so downplayed like there’s some sort of cover up…its like foreigners are more concerned and more responsive than our own government. Also, will anybody be held to account for the disaster? I doubt it under this weak leadership we brought upon ourselves!!!