500 up in arms over Mopani land

ROGERS KALERO writes
@SunZambian
MORE than 500 peasant farmers from Wusakile constituency in Kitwe are up in arms against Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) over its decision to evict them from the land behind the South Orebody where they have been doing farming for more than 60 years.
But, Wusakile Member of Parliament Pavyuma Kalobo has urged the farmers to ignore the decision by MCM and continue cultivating their fields because that was their source of livelihood.
But Mopani mines Public Relations Manager, Nerbert Mulenga, said the more than 500 farmers had trespassed on MCM land which was also a caving area and could collapse anytime
Mr Kalobo has warned that he was ready to draw battle lines with the mining company if it continues to harass the farmers most of whom have taken up farming after they were retrenched by MCM.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Kalobo said he was on the side of the farmers and that he will fight tooth and nail to stop cruel investors from exploiting poor residents of Wusakile constituency
“People have been farming in that area from as far as 1952 during the ZCCM era, but no one evicted them. What has MCM brought to start evicting people in their farming area? This MCM has been more of a thorn in the flesh than an investor to benefit the people.
“Most of the people who are farming in that area were retrenched from MCM and the same company is now following them in their fields to chase them. No, I will not accept. Those people will not leave that area. If it means drawing battlelines, we are ready,” Mr Kalobo said
Mr Kalobo said MCM should not treat Zambians, especially Wusakile residents like toys, but must treat them with respect and engage them in a better way
He said Zambia has sufficient laws and procedures to follow when re-settling people which MCM must follow if it wanted to resettle the people in the area
“This country has sufficient laws to follow hence if MCM wants to resettle those people, it must engage the people, government and other relevant authorities instead of treating people like toys.
“So if MCM does not engage the people in a better way, then there will be serious problems. If they want to harass those farmers and do all sorts of things, there will be serious troubles. This I promise,” Mr Kalobo said.
And speaking separately during the meeting behind the SOB shaft, the farmers said they have risen against MCM because its decision was not in their interests, but was aimed at throwing them in serious hunger
One of the farmers, Mr Deuce Songa said, instead of developing a good name with the farmers by supporting them with agricultural inputs and other things as a corporate social responsibility, the giant mining firm has been squeezing them to the last drop
“When I say squeezing us to the last drop, I mean it is the same MCM which retrenched most of us here and after we turned to farming, the same MCM comes to chase us from this piece of land
“People have been doing farming in this area from the time of ZCCM, but why should MCM evict us? No, this will not happen. This battle has just began. If it means dying, we will die here,” Mr Songa said
But Mr Mulenga said the farmers had trespassed on MCM land which was also a caving area and could collapse anytime
He said the mining company was engaging the local MP, Mr Kalobo to find a lasting solution to the problem
“These 500 farmers have trespassed on MCM area, and it is illegal to trespass on someone’s land. Secondly, this is a caving area meaning that we have done all the mining activities underneath and what is remaining is the surface and can collapse anytime,” Mr Mulenga said