IT’S THEM WHO OWN THE DEATHTRAP SENSELI MINE
Chingola’s Senseli Open Pit Mine last Sunday claimed another life after the earth collapsed and buried him alive.
Copperbelt Police Commissioner Mr Peacewell Mweemba, who confirmed the latest accident to the media, said the remains of the victim, Mr Joseph Kamapanga, had already been deposited in Nchanga North Hospital mortuary awaiting further investigation.
It’s almost a month since the same mine claimed over 30 miners in a similar mine accident. The rescue operation has continued, with the number of families claiming missing relatives rising from 36 to 62 so far.
This is according to the last official count from Chingola district commissioner Mr Raphael Chimupi.
This is horrific news for the country, especially the families and communities affected in Chingola, who continue to suffer the loss of their loved ones in these tragic circumstances.
We beseech the Almighty God to comfort them in his own special way during this time of grief and pain.
Last week, we asked questions about the Senseli Open Pit Mine disaster, and they were never answered. But we shall ask again so that the people involved provide honest answers:
(1) Who owns Senseli Open Pit Mine? Who are the real faces behind this mine? Why is the ownership of Senseli Open Pit Mine shrouded in secrecy?
(2) Is this government prepared to lift the corporate veil on Senseli Open Pit Mine shareholders?
(3) From the facts gathered so far, what safety violations were committed by the owners of Senseli Open Pit Mine, and what is the Ministry of Mines doing about it?
(4) Why do we have such low safety and security standards at Senseli Open Pit Mine? How can strangers continue to be said to have access to the mine without restrictions?
(5) Why are they using government resources to meet what should be costs or expenses of Senseli Open Pit Mine? Where are the owners of this mine?
(6) Why should we continue to lose lives in such a negligent manner without serious interventions and actions by the authorities? Who is benefiting from this recklessness?
Anyway, the reason they can not provide clarifications, guidance, and honest answers to the questions being posed is because they are the owners of this mine. Senseli Open Pit Mine belongs to them!
They have tolerated low safety and security standards, and the government continues to shoulder the cost burden of the disasters because it’s them who own Senseli Open Pit Mine. If it wasn’t them, they wouldn’t tolerate these careless mine safety and security violations. They would have made sure by now that the owners of the mine meet the costs and compensate the grieving families or are arrested for the deaths of all these people.
Unless they explain why they’re not protecting lives at Senseli Open Pit Mine, they must be held accountable as the real owners of the mine.
The nation deserves to know the truth, and it won’t be long before the truth is known.
Fred M’membe
The question should be why does government keep ownership of mines secret from the voters who are indeed the real owners?
It now looks like every UPND cabinet minister and MP, including their extended families, own mines in Zambia. All these maggots were nothing before 2021. They did not even own cow dung in their villages, yet now they own mines in Central, Luapula, Lusaka, CB, and Northern provinces. That is a long way from where they come from, but since 2021, they have infiltrated these provinces. And they have made tribal appointments in these provinces starting from police commissioners so that their illegal activities go unchecked.