Porous security worries gemstone miners

ROGERS KALERO writes@sunzambian THE porous security situation in the gemstone mining area in Lufwanyama district of the Copperbelt has seen an influx of people engaged in illegal activities, gemstones miners have complained.Gerntina Mines Limited chief executive officer, Moffat Mukwala, said the porous situation in the restricted gemstone area was a serious problem which needed urgent […]

Porous security worries gemstone miners
ROGERS KALERO writes@sunzambian THE porous security situation in the gemstone mining area in Lufwanyama district of the Copperbelt has seen an influx of people engaged in illegal activities, gemstones miners have complained.Gerntina Mines Limited chief executive officer, Moffat Mukwala, said the porous situation in the restricted gemstone area was a serious problem which needed urgent attention.According to Mr Mukwala, some criminals and ex-convicts were hiding in the area after committing crimes.Mr Sukwala, who is Emerald and Semi-precious Metals Association of Zambia (ESMAZ) treasurer, said in an interview in Kitwe that a census should be conducted to establish who was genuinely in the area and then do a clean upESMAZ is also an affiliate member of the Federation of Small Scale Mining Association of ZambiaHe said ESMAZ was already in touch with the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Mines Barnaby Mulenga and had given a go-ahead“The association has informed the permanent Secretary about the porous security situation in the restricted gemstone area. This porous security situation is a threat to the gemstones mines because sometimes criminals connive with some workers to steal gemstones.“There are ex-convicts and criminals hiding in the area. We also have people doing illegal mining activities,” Mr Mukwala said.Mr Mukwala said the Permanent Secretary had suggested that after a census is carried out, illegal dealers should be given ample time to leave the area before engaging the police at Kamfinsa Mobile Unit,He said he was hopeful that the proposals would be implemented for the sake of improving and tightening security in the gemstones mines area“We hope everything will be implemented as planned because if we don’t, the porous security situation in the area could be a time bomb. Like I said, even ex-convicts hide in the same area“It may be used as a place for various illegal activities which may be a threat to the gemstones mines area. In the past, we have experienced some unexplained thefts and robberies in the area,” he said The Sun