Water from Kafwa Stream has been diverted by a manganese mining firm in Mkushi’s Chalata neighborhood to wash manganese.
A team of officers from the Ministry of Green Economy, the Forestry and Meteorology Departments, and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency-ZEMA undertook a spot inspection to find this.
The crew was conducting compliance inspections of forest reserves, meteorological infrastructure, and facilities for the mining and processing of manganese in Central Province.
According to the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, the creek is being contaminated by the water from the manganese wash plant.
Despite receiving an Environmental Protection Order from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency in September 2022, which ordered the plant to stop functioning, the manganese wash plant was still discovered to be in operation.
The worst infringement for the residents of the Kafwa area in the Mkushi District, according to Green Economy Minister COLLINS NZOVU, is the pollution in the stream.
Mr. NZOVU has urged ZEMA to keep carrying out regular inspections to make sure compliance.
