Villagers to make way for dam

More than 700 people near Chililabombwe in Zambia’s Copperbelt region are to be removed from the vicinity of the Konkola mine to make way for the expansion of a tailings dam, according to Anglo American, the new owners of 70 percent of the country’s copper mines.

Anglo says that the Lubengele tailings dam, which services the Konkola mine, needs to be expanded.

According to the report, the three settlements earmarked for removal are situated within 10 km of Chililabombwe. It said 443 people from 74 households in Kawama township are to be moved. The township accommodates about 4,000 people, 75 percent of whom are subsistence farmers whose monthly incomes range between US $8 and US $245.

These households, an Anglo official told IRIN, will be moved to a designated area adjacent to the township.

Anglo also said all the 288 residents of an informal settlement in Ming’omba village also have to be moved. It said 90 percent of Ming’omba residents are subsistence farmers who will be moved 15 km away, to a resettlement area near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A total of eight households of Momba farms also face removal from their homes, added the report. It said, however, that three of the eight households have 99-year leasehold titles on their homes. The families of Momba farms had purchased their land from the ZCCM and are relatively well-off compared to subsistence farmers in Ming’omba and the residents of Kawama township.

An Anglo official told IRIN that people had settled on ZCCM property in search of employment opportunities. “There was haphazard settlement of people who came to the Copperbelt in search of jobs and to be near relatives employed in the mines. The result of this was that every empty space of land was invaded and settlements set up.”

The official added that no financial compensation will be given to the Kawama and Ming’omba residents who will be moved. “The mining company will only assist them with relocation logistics like transport.” He said, however, that the Momba farms residents will receive financial compensation and will be required to find alternative accommodation on their own.

The resettlements, said the Anglo official, are to be completed by August next year.