Lower Zambezi Mining Go Ahead- A dangerous case of hypocritical leadership.
By Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo
So as expected, President Hakainde Hichilema has given a go ahead to mine in the Lower Zambezi National Park.
We expected this to happen because Mr. Hichilema is an investor in Mwembeshi Resources Ltd, the company behind this project.
Even in 2014 when as opposition leader, Mr. Hichilema opposed the project, we knew that, in his typical style, he was lying.
When he tweeted in 2014 that “LowerZambezi stays untouched,” we knew it was part of his usual hogwash.
In October when a Coalition of NGOs personally appealed to him as President to stop the project through a hard-hitting social media campaign called #SaveZambezi, #SafeZambezi, we knew there were up against a rock because we know the man they were appealing to, he is only motivated by self interest, he is a an egoistic greedy man.
Today, he is President after Zambians bought his lies and as expected, he has gone back on his own words.
To please his white monopoly capitalist friends, he has allowed mining in one of the world’s most wildlife reserve areas. The Lower Zambezi is admired the world over as one of the most pristine, undisturbed, virgin and paradise like places on earth.
As Minister of Lusaka Province, I engaged the Royal Highnesses in Lower Zambezi as the area falls under Lusaka Province and they were forthright in their rejection of this project.
It is now baffling and defeats basic logic and understanding how a country that wants to promote sustainable development now wants to kill biodiversity and kill off such a great wonder of God’s creation.
When the Ministry of Green Economy was created, people felt that this was the beginning of serious efforts to protect our environment. Now as Minister Nzovu wants to ban charcoal burning on which over 80 percent of our rural people depend, he is on the other hand contradicting himself by approving a mining project right in the heart of a game park.
As President, Mr. Hichilema has a duty to protect the interests of the nation. His duty does not start and finish with protecting the interest of those white monopoly capitalists he went to see during a Book Launch in Joburg recently.
We now call on President Hichilema to redeem himself by declaring interest in this matter, directing his Minister for Green Economy to order ZEMA to reserve the Decision Letter on the project and protect our wildlife.
