Chieftainess Chiawa of the Goba people in Kafue district says she is opposing to the proposed construction of the Kangaluwi Copper Mine in the Lower Zambezi.
Chieftainess Chiawa in whose area the proposed mine is to be situated said allowing mining in the Lower Zambezi will disrupt wildlife in the area.
She said the Lower Zambezi is globally renowned to its vast and untamed wildlife and tempering with its existence will take away the beauty of the area.
Chieftainess Chiawa said she would rather have sustainable tourism in the Lower Zambezi than encouraging mining which she says can cause a lot of damage to the area.
“Mining here makes me scared. What will happen to all those animals when mining starts with all its noise? I am really scared,” Chieftainess Chiawa said.
She was speaking over the weekend in an interview with Journalists when Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo paid a courtesy call on her before holding an interactive session with tour operators and other stakeholders in the Lower Zambia.
Chieftainess Chiawa added, “you cannot have both, it’s either you have tourism and no mining or mining and no tourism. “
She said the greatest attraction of the Lower Zambezi is wildlife which she feared would scamper if mining is allowed.
And Mr Lusambo has assured tour operators in the Lower Zambezi that government will continue supporting sustainable tourism in the country.
