By Jane Chanda
The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have demanded that the government should renegotiate the compensation agreements with mining polluters on the Copperbelt, and that this should be done with full involvement of affected communities.
The CSOs further demanded enforcement of immediate compliance audits, and initiate criminal and civil prosecutions where negligence or regulatory failure is established.
Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited and Rongxing Investment Limited recently agreed with the government to jointly compensate 507 farmers with K16.2 million due to pollution caused by their mining operations. The compensation is for damages to crops, livestock, and land caused by tailing dam leakages into the Mwambashi and Kafue Rivers in Chambishi.
But in a press statement, the Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition formally requested an urgent meeting with relevant government authorities to discuss immediate response measures, community involvement in remediation processes, and citizen-driven proposals for long-term environmental governance reforms.
They demanded urgent action on the Kafue River toxic spill, expressing grave concern over the scale of the disaster and its ongoing impact on affected communities.
In a joint press statement, the Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition, comprising leading CSOs and environmental defenders, stated that tens of thousands of Zambians were at grave risk due to the twin toxic events that occurred on February 18, 2025, and March 1, 2025.
The incidents involved the release of over 50 million liters of acidic effluent into the Mwambashi Stream, a tributary of the Kafue River, and the discharge of substantial volumes of acid-laden waste into the aquatic environment by Sino Metals Leach Zambia Limited and Rongxhing Mining Limited, respectively.
“We reiterate our continued commitment to constructively engage with the government of the Republic of Zambia to ensure a just, transparent and rights-based national response,” the coalition stated. “Our concern is heightened by recent findings from an independent testing exercise, published by the Embassy of Finland on the 30th of June 2025.”
According to the coalition, the independent testing exercise confirmed the presence of 24 heavy metals, including lead, ersenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, and uranium, in the affected areas.
They stated that at least 16 of these heavy metals were detected at levels far exceeding World Health Organization (WHO) safety thresholds, posing a significant risk to the health and well-being of communities such as Luela and Kalusale.
The coalition urged the government to take decisive action to hold the polluting mining companies accountable and to ensure that the “polluter pays principle” was applied.
This principle, enshrined in Section 6(d) of the Environmental Management Act and Article 255 (b) of the Constitution, obligates entities responsible for polluting the environment to bear the full cost of environmental restoration and compensation to affected communities.
The coalition is demanding that the government reassess and renegotiate compensation agreements with the full involvement of affected communities, enforce immediate compliance audits, and initiate criminal and civil prosecutions where negligence or regulatory failure is established.
Furthermore, the coalition called for the adoption of modern tailings management systems in all mining operations, the declaration of impacted zones as Environmentally Protected Areas, and the convening of an emergency session of Parliament to address environmental governance failures and propose a strengthened legal framework for environmental disasters.
They further stated that they remained committed to working with the government, affected communities, and all stakeholders to ensure a scientifically informed and constitutionally sound response that prioritised public health, community dignity, and environmental protection.
