Zambia loses at least 52 lives in the Chingola mining tragedy!

“Mwe bena Chingola, twalosha naimwe!” – Chishala Kateka, New Heritage Party President.

By Chishala Kateka.

Lusaka, Dec. 2 – Zambia has lost at least 52 lives in a mining tragedy in Chingola. The final death toll is yet to be determined as this is an unfolding story.

On some group, I saw a comment from a ‘comfortable’ colleague ……”iyi ni lawlessness – abantu besu tabomfwa.” meaning that this incident is as a result of lawlessness.

At New Heritage Party, we have always said that we must understand the root of the problem before we can provide a lasting solution.

Also Read: We don’t have a capable leader to mobilise national wealth. By Edith Nawakwi.

“It would be a waste of time to get the debt restructuring without creating the necessary production capacity in the country to repay the debts when the repayments are due!” – Nawakwi.

When we see our young people become ‘junkies’, when we see street vendors, when we see people risking their lives to undertake illegal mining, it means that for them, in their situation, there is a very compelling reason to undertake those activities.

There is no person that is compos mentis (having control of one’s mind), that will unnecessarily risk their health and life. This means that those of our brothers and sisters that risk their lives, have been driven to a point of desperation to undertake these activities.

The question that we need to ask ourselves is – What has led our fellow countrymen to such levels of desperation? Why could they not have undertaken other economic activities to provide for their families?

The answer is simple: we have not provided alternatives for them to undertake as economic activities!! This is the only niche that they could find. When they try:

▪️to find regular jobs, they find that we have not provided such jobs for them to be employed in.
▪️to sell wares as street vendors, we chase them.
▪️to make a livelihood through farming, we mess up the agricultural sector too.
▪️to sell maize to DRC, we stop them or shoot them down.

When they reach their wits end, they then hear that they can make a livelihood through illegal mining. Should we then be surprised that the levels of desperation to make a livelihood is so high that they go for it?

Also Read: Canadian looting of Zambian resources led to debt crisis.

“In 2006, Zambian royalties from copper represented about $24m on $4 billion worth of copper extracted. The taxing of the mining companies wasn’t any better, too. Between 2000 and 2007, Zambia exported US$12.24bn in copper but the government only collected US$246m in tax.”

Countrymen and women, we can do much better than this. We have the wherewithal to do much better than this.

We have at least 52 families that have lost their loved ones:

▪️as our President undertakes his bi-weekly flights out of the country…
▪️as our UPND leaders award themselves massive consent judgements.
▪️as we are busy politicking.
▪️as we are busy focusing on incarcerating our perceived political nemeses.
▪️as we are busy looking out for our own.

Let us remember our fellow Zambians, all over this country:

▪️Those that can barely put food on the table.
▪️Those that have reached such high desperation levels that they can undertake any high risk economic activity – legal or illegal – to survive.

It is absolutely cardinal that those that have been put in high office understand why they are sitting in those offices. Yours is not to merely feather your nests making big international deals but to know that your primary responsibility is to lift the living standards of every Zambian regardless of their political affiliation or of their region of origin.

About Woodpecker’s Digest: We are an online portal for analytical commentaries on topical issues of national interest and for articles on personal development and health! Journalism maintains democracy. It is a great tool for progressive social change! We, therefore, see it as our job to put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers.