LAND GRABS IN MANGANESE MINING HOST COMMUNITIES WORRIES CARE FOR NATURE ZAMBIA.
Care For Nature Zambia Executive Director
Nsama Kearns says Bahati constituency in Chimese Chiefdom ishome to majority of
manganese Mines in Mansa District, but having Artisanal, small scale and large
scale mining it has not been without challenges especially among the local
people who hold parcels of ancestral land with no titles.
Ms. Kearns says home to 300 villages,
and thousands of households, majority residents in this area are vulnerable to
land grabs and displacement.
She says this morning her organisation
has had an opportunity to visit village headwoman Kunda Ndomi concerning rumors
of the mining company in Kansas border area planning to relocate villagers
without fair compensation nor following resettlement procedures.
Ms. Kearns says the affected villages
include Munchini, Chisembe, Ntoposhi, Chambule, Kabele and Kunda Ndomi.
She says the visit was to inquire if the
mining company had conducted an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
public hearing to engage communities of the upcoming development and if there
was free, prior and informed consent before a decision was made to stop them
from using their land in preparation for relocation.
Ms. Kearns says the issue of losing
customary land as a result of mining has bypassed alarming levels in Luapula
and without intervention.
She says Luapula risk having a situation
where villagers are driven off their land and foreign investors buying rich
arable land for both investment and settlement.
Ms. Kearns says there is also need to
train communities to defend their rights and to negotiate with investors using
legal provisions of the resettlement policy and the Minerals Regulation Act of
2024.
She says Care for Nature Zambia remains
committed to protecting community rights and our appeal to the Minerals
Regulation Commission is to ensure that mining contributes to development
without violating people's rights.
Ms. Kearn says there has to be
compliance to laws of the land and has reminded mining companies to respect
people they find in the areas of operation.
By Evans Sinjela
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