Zambians Flock To Newly Uncovered Gold Mine In Lumezi District, With a rush of 4,000 people
The Lumezi Town Council in Eastern Province, Zambia, has expressed concern over the unregulated gold mining activities taking place in the Kabulasisi Local Forest under Chief Kazembe’s jurisdiction.
The Public Relations Officer of the Town Council, Irvin Muyumbwa, has stated that the influx of over 4,000 people to the mining site is a matter of public health concern.
The Council Secretary, Mary Sinkala, visited the mining site with Public Health Inspectors and Council Police to assess the sanitary and safety conditions.
The team found that the temporal toilet facilities and refuse bins at the mining site needed improvement.
Sinkala also expressed concern about the difficult access to the mining site, as people have to cross the Lundazi River using buckets, resulting in two reported drownings.
However, The Council plans to procure a Banana boat to ease crossing the river and provide access to clean, safe drinking water and During the visit, the District Aids Coordinating Advisor also educated the people on preventive measures and distributed more than 1,400 condoms.
