One week ago, residents of the Annex Municipality of Lubumbashi in the DRC mining company Katanga, Somika, accused of environmental pollution on our antennas. The people in the area believe that their health is endangered by the company’s mining activities. Somika responds: “The accusations of the population are unfounded because everything is being done to significantly reduce the effects of pollution”, assure the officials of this mining company.
as reported from Lubumbashi, Denise maheho
Fortunat Kande, responsible for PR for the Somika company, is categorical: the management of polluted water is rational. Residents of the annex municipality in Lubumbashi do not have to worry about the risk of contamination of the water table.
“We have a park upstream of our factory more than 2 km away where we squeeze out liquid and solid emissions,” assures Fortunat Kande. As for the runoff water, there are sedimentary ponds, lime is put in them before it can go out through a single channel that is well controlled so that these waters can not have load, as they say. “
“Zero pollution, there is not”
In this district on the outskirts of Lubumbashi, the air is suffocating, residents testify. As a result, fewer and fewer children go to the Saint Fortunat school, which is located almost 600 meters from the mine.
“We occasionally test the air that leaves our company,” explains Fortunat Kande from Somika. For my part, I believe that these accusations cannot be blamed on the company. “But how can we claim that there is no pollution when the children of the neighborhood are really coughing because the air is suffocating? “Zero pollution, there is not”, answers PR. Every business must make daily efforts to keep its environment up to standard. “
These explanations from Somika do not diminish the anger of the inhabitants. For them, the company should compensate them and move from the residential area.
►Read also: DRC: pollution in the Somika district of Lubumbashi
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