KABWE LOSES $2.5M WB FUNDING
By KETRA KALUNGA
THE rampant land encumbrances in Kabwe have led to the district losing about $2.5 million that the World Bank allocated to the engineered landfill project under the Zambia Mining and Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP).
Kabwe has been characterised by illegal land allocation which has seen a number of houses being demolished by the rightful owners, one of them being the demolition of about 100 houses by the Zambia Army built on their land.
A source at the council said the World Bank reclaimed the money meant for the project after the local authority failed to find land for the dumpsite that is near the Central Business District (CBD) and free of encumbrances as per World Bank standards.
The World Bank wanted the local authority to find about 25 hectares that is free of hindrances, unfortunately, all the six sites the council found were rejected because people had already settled there, the source said.
According to the source, the last site was in Mpima area where they found a few people on the land who were ready to move and be compensated but the World Bank rejected the offer because they never wanted to displace anybody in line with their policy.
The World Bank allocated about $66 million aimed at reducing environmental health risks in critically populated mining areas of Kabwe, Kitwe, Chingola, and Mufulira and about $16 million was allocated to Kabwe for the programme implemented in 2016.
