By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
The Green Party applauds the public declaration by President Hakainde Hichilema in Parliament for re-establishing a ministry responsible for environment.
Green Party President Peter Sinkamba says for them who have strongly believed in the green agenda, that re-establishment of the ministry of environment is a great sigh of relief after 10 years without it.
He said the first thing the PF did when they formed government in 2011 was to scrap off this ministry and they started allowing mining in national parks.
“We, the environmentalists, went to court and temporarily blocked, through court action, the mining project in Lower Zambezi National Park from 2014 up to 2021. Sadly, a few months ago, the High Court directed that mining activities can proceed. This is heartbreaking; we failed to protect Lochinver National Park from mining activities. The feedback we got yesterday from ZAWA on devastation of the ecosystem in the park is seriously heartbreaking,” he said.
Mr Sinkambba said they also failed to block devastation of Forest 27, and other sensitive ecological zones.
He said that now President Hichilema has come with a commitment to sustainability.
“So, after re-establishing the ministry responsible for environment, the next important thing we expect from him to do is to revoke all mining licenses issued in national parks and other sensitive ecological zones, we expect from himto repeal all laws that allow mining in ecological zones,” he said.
Mr Sinkamba said it is expected that President Hichilema will repossess all land in Forest 27, and elsewhere, that was alienated to high ranking officials.
We hope President Hichilema will do the above, and then will believe that he not bluffing on the green agenda but genuinely committed to the cause. For, re-establishing a ministry is one thing, taking radical action to protect sensitive ecosystems, is another altogether, in the meantime we will keep our fingers crossed, wait and see what happens,” he said.
