GOVT URGED TO HASTEN KCM TRANSITION PROCESS

THE unfortunate occurrence at the Senseli open pit mine slug damp site should motivate the Government to hasten the KCM Vedanta transition process, Vedanta Must Return Community Campaign Coordinator Chishala Mwamba has said.

Speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Mwamba said the youths who were buried alive were simply trying to make ends meet at their struggle for a better life which is a struggle for every youth in Chingola and Zambia at large.

“Government must realize that the best way to honor their fallen brothers is a full revamping of the Konkola Copper Mines that will see the asset come back to its life in the soonest possible time,” he said.

Mr. Mwamba further said that the Government should listen to the cries of the people and expedite the transitioning process in the KCM deal.

“Many people depend on the KCM to sustain their livelihoods therefore, the Government should listen to the cries of its youths who are fully dependent on the mines,” he said.

He recommended strides made by the Minister of Mines Paul Kabuswe in the mining sector with the finding of an equity partner for mopani copper mines.

“As a movement composed of various organizations from both Chingola and Chililabombwe we are deeply saddened by the death of our brothers under very unfortunate circumstances. These are youths that were simply trying to make money to feed their families.

Their struggle for a better life is a struggle for every youth in Chingola, even in their death these young people believed in the hope of a functional KCM that would have liberated them from poverty. They are therefore not so different from the thousands of young people out there who still continue to keep the same faith,” he said.

He has since urged the Government to realize that many youths depend on the mines and that something must be done for such accidents not to be repeated in future.

“The youths cannot be stopped from going to the mines and the Government must ensure that something is done to help the youths in honor of the lives we have lost by fully revamping the KCM.

We greatly appreciate the efforts made by the mines minister for finding an equity partner for mopani, the return of Vedanta resources to KCM and the soon opening of the chaff 28 in Luanshya. However, the minister and his counterparts can do better and can do more by ensuring the KCM transitioning process is done speedily in order to reduce more accidents from occurring,” he said.