"Weak pillars in underground mine tunnels cause houses to collapse in Sinazongwe", 11 Jan 2016

Fifty people from ten households surrounding Nkandabwe collumn coal mine...have been displaced after their houses almost collapsed and sunk due to weak pillars of tunnels that were left during mining of coal some years ago...[Their] houses developed major cracks as the ground was almost sinking...[And] affected households [have] abandoned their houses which were almost collapsing and sinking together with their property including livestock and other important resources they relied on for their livelihoods...[Victims resorted to] squatting on a piece of land within the mine area which had no shelter for their refuge and other important requirements like toilet facilities...

Collumn Coal Mine manager Kepson Munthali said…it was unfortunate that people had settled on that piece of land when in fact should not have been allowed to settle in the mine since inception. He suspected that no Environmental Impact Assessment might have been carried out because recommendations on areas for people to settle and build their own structures could have been made and such occurrences could have been avoided… He added that the [damage to homes]...was a wake up call that called for concerted efforts from the mine management and other relevant bodies such as ZEMA, Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ),mines safety body and the ministry of mines and development…