Dipak Patel says government should act in public interest and cancel the mining license which it recently granted in the Lower Zambezi National Park area.

In a statement, Patel said the granting of a mining exploration license was a morally repugnant decision.

“In the first instance, to have granted a mining exploration license in the Lower Zambezi was a morally repugnant decision by the Government. This was done in spite of the fact that Zambia is a signatory to the UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Article 6.3 of the Convention reads ‘Each State Party to this Convention undertakes not to take any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage’,” Patel stated.

He stated that it would be in public interest if government ordered a stop to any attempts to mine in the Lower Zambezi.

“The decision that is now required from government is not a legal one, but a moral and political decision. The mining license needs to be canceled forthwith in public interest, and put an end to this unfathomable sordid saga. Many Governments have over years made decisions on various issues in public interest, and there has never been a more crucial issue of public interest than to stop forthwith any attempt to mine in the Lower Zambezi,” stated Patel.