Government should urgently address illegal mining

By Daily Revelation Editor

Ministry of Mines permanent secretary Hapenga Kabeta says illegal mining is something which needs to be fought with all the energy.

Kabeta said the government did not condone illegal mining adding that President Hakainde Hichilema had made it clear that illegal mining should not be allowed to be a way of living for some people.

We agree with the government’s position that illegal mining should be fought with all the energy but we feel that they are not doing enough to address the situation.

The country has experienced several mining accidents recently resulting in the death of people and irreversible injuries to many. Most of these accidents involve illegal mining operations and can be attributed to a number factors.

We have a number of accidents that have happened where the government has issued statements and promised Zambians that things will change but nothing seems to be coming out of those commitments.

We have found our government to be so reactive to the accidents that have been occuring at these illegal mine sites, with the trend only worsening.

We feel the government can do more to address this unfortunate situation. If the government had made every effort to address these issue, the country would have experienced a reduction in the cases of accidents happening in mines. But clearly something is missing

In December 2023, over 38 small scale miners died at Senseli Mine in Chingola, with the government only managing to retrieve 25 bodies, which were positively identified and buried by their families.

The President and the entire Cabinet visited the site and pledged various interventions to end illegal mining but the same thing has continued happening.

Apart from the Senseli Mine accident, the country recorded another accident at Luili Gold Mine in Mumbwa where an unknown number of miners died.

In August 2024, nine miners were killed in Chongwe after an illegal mine site collapsed and buried them together with the tipper truck and they all died.

Last week, eight miners died at Mufumbwe mine and all we have heard are statements promising to do something about. We seem to be going in circles.

The rate at which we are losing lives due to mine accidents calls for urgent attention from the government and other stakeholders.

Issuing statements alone is not enough and something must be done to prevent people from losing lives.

Kabeta also said the government has come up with a programme to formalise illegal mining.

He said the program is meant to formalise those who are not formal in their operations.

“Through that formalisation, we want to bring in safe mining methods. We want to bring in companies that, or that are going to be part and parcel of Zambia’s economic agenda,” said Hapenga. “When they are outside, and they are not participating in the main economic activities, it simply implies that they are outside. So, that is the government’s programme”

This is a welcome move and we only hope the government will take this programme seriously and utilise it to address the increased numbers of deaths being experienced in the country due to illegal mining.

It is the desire of every Zambian to see order in the mining sector so that citizens can positively contribute to the economy while helping themselves to take care of their families.