DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions Gilbert Phiri says he is interested in individuals who don’t get buried underground, as they are the ones pulling strings in illegal mining and enjoying the loot. And Phiri has insisted that the country needs severe sanctions against illegal mining, questioning whether successive governments didn’t know that the mining sector needed to be strongly regulated. He further says illegal mining operations do not pay taxes or mineral royalties, adding that there’s also a violation of human rights when children are involved. Speaking during the Anti-Corruption Commission Conference organised by Transparency International Zambia, Wednesday, Phiri said desperate citizens with no means of survival were engaging in illegal mining to earn an income. “We know that illicit mining...