Black Mountain reward not a must - Musoma
GOVERNEMNT is not obliged to compensate families of the Black Mountain accident victims because small scale miners were given 10 percent ownership of the mountain, says Zambian Republican Party (ZRP) president Wright Musoma.
In an interview, Mr Musoma said government should only go out of its way to help the affected families and should not be blamed for the tragedy.
He said people should not play the blame game because the mountain was partially owned by the small scale miners and some Chinese investors.
“Under what circumstance should government compensate the families? Government should just go out of its way to help the bereaved families,” Mr Musoma said.
He was reacting to the Human Rights Commission’s call for Government to compensate the families of the deceased in line with the National and International Human Rights Obligations and Practices.
Mr Musoma however said he was saddened that lives had been lost because life is precious but that Government should not be blamed over the disaster.
He said people should not put pressure on President Lungu to issue a statement because he had already sent messages of condolences to the bereaved families.
He called on the private sector and the opposition to come on board and help the affected families.