‘GWEMBE OIL EXPLORATION STILL ACTIVE’

By JOHN KOMBE GOVERNMENT is still carrying out explorations to ascertain the presence of oil in the Gwembe Valley and that results cannot be rushed without concluding the process. Gwembe District Commissioner Timothy Siakaziba, said Government had tasked ZCCM-IH to carry out the investigations and was confident that the company would deliver its mandate. Mr Siakaziba was reacting to sentiments by some stakeholders who included traditional and civic leaders, who accused Government of delaying the oil exploration in the valley. He said that ZCCM-IH had visited the area and collected samples for further investigations. According to him, the undertaking was a mammoth that required systematic investigations before a conclusive position could be made. Mr Siakaziba said Government was on top of things and the public and stakeholders would get the position once the investigations were concluded. He wondered why some stakeholders were asking ZCCM-IH to declare that it had failed the project when the holding firm was following the technical procedure on the matter. Mr Siakaziba said that rushing the results was not the best option as resolutions must be based on scientific evidence. And ZCCM-IH public relations manager, Louisa Kakoma, earlier confirmed that the company was still carrying out investigations on the samples and would submit results once the process was completed.