Natalie Chilikwela is done with talking. The 18‑year‑old has lived with the harmful impacts of toxic lead contamination in her hometown of Kabwe her whole life and has heard countless promises from politicians—yet little has changed. As a member of the Kabwe Environment Youth Network, she has raised awareness among local communities about the dangers of lead and has called on officials to provide medical treatment and clean up the toxic mine waste that is causing the problem. “Now,” she says, “we are done talking. We want to see action.”
Kabwe is one of the world’s worst pollution hotspots because of contamination from a former lead and zinc mine. The mine began operating during the British colonial period, was later nationalized, and was closed in 1994. Neither the responsible companies nor the government ever cleaned up the mine’s toxic waste. As a result, lead dust from the large uncovered waste dumps blows over nearby residential areas such as Chowa, Kasanda, Mine and Makululu, endangering up to 200,000 people. A 2019 Human Rights Watch report highlighted the harmful impact of lead contamination on children’s rights to health, information and education. According to the World Health Organization, lead is a toxic metal with no safe level of exposure; it causes stunted growth, memory loss, developmental delays and many other irreversible health effects, and can even lead to coma and death. Children are especially at risk. Medical researchers estimate that over 95 percent of children living near the former mine have elevated blood lead levels, and about half of them have levels so high that urgent medical intervention is required.
The Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Hon. Collins Nzovu (MP), says the moment for action may finally have arrived. He recently outlined his vision of Kabwe as a “Green City,” where business developments “proceed on top of buried lead surfaces.” Many residents wonder whether this could be the moment when the toxic lead that has harmed them for decades is finally addressed. “Buried” suggests that the government would cap the mine’s waste piles so they no longer contaminate the environment—a method successfully used in comparable lead‑zinc mine cleanups in the United States and elsewhere. Capping should be part of a comprehensive plan that provides residents with a remedy for their suffering.
The ministry made this commitment at a round‑table conference organized by the Alliance for Lead‑Free Kabwe, a civil‑society alliance that has been pressing for a comprehensive cleanup of the former mine site. In March 2022, President Hakainde Hichilema instructed the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to establish a technical committee to “address and lead the process of comprehensive remediation” in Kabwe. However, the committee has met only once, on 3 June, with representatives from government agencies, the University of Zambia and civil‑society organizations. Since then, it has been hampered by delays and has not been given the priority it deserves. A subcommittee has been working on the committee’s terms of reference—still unpublished—since mid‑2022. A full year after the president’s directive, it is vital that the body promptly develop a concrete, feasible plan for the comprehensive cleanup of Kabwe’s mine waste. The government should share the terms of reference with civil‑society groups and other stakeholders for input, publish the final document, and conduct consultations with international and Zambian experts on mine remediation.
With a World Bank loan, the government has undertaken some efforts to address the contamination through the Zambia Mining and Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project. The project is testing and treating children and cleaning a small number of homes, a school and a highly polluted canal. These measures are important, but as long as the source of the contamination is not cleaned up, they are unsustainable and any progress will quickly be reversed.
On hearing the ministry’s plans, Natalie Chilikwela said she feels excited but cautioned, “Going from Kabwe’s current condition to a ‘Green Town’ isn’t the simplest task and I can’t help but wonder what the results will be.” Kabwe can only be considered “green” if the cleanup of the toxic mine is the number‑one priority in the government’s plans. The children and young people of Kabwe deserve a swift, lasting solution that allows them to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment.
Namo Chuma is the director of Environment Africa Zambia, an environmental nongovernmental organization based in Kabwe. Juliane Kippenberg is associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. Both organizations are members of the Alliance for Lead‑Free Kabwe.
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