Life After Lead Poisoning: “What happened to the World Bank’s $65 million support for lead victims in Zambia?”

Life After Lead Poisoning: “What happened to the World Bank's $65 million

Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi

April 3, 2024. 8:49am

Elfredah Kevin-Alerechi, Cindy Sipula, and Martin Vrba’s six-month investigation discovered that the failure to completely “cover the mine” continues to affect generations born before its existence.

Several news outlets reported on lead poisoning among Kabwe residents four decades ago, alleging that it was caused by a Kabwe mine, formerly known as the Broken Hill mine, which Anglo American was alleged to have played a key role in controlling and managing until 1974 when Zambia’s mining industry was nationalised.

This is one of the most well-known and remarkable cases reported from around the world. Tens of thousands of children and women of childbearing age in Kabwe, Zambia, were reportedly poisoned by lead dust left behind.

The World Bank has committed $65.6 million to a five-year project for the Zambian government aimed at reducing environmental health risks in heavily polluted mining areas. The project targets in particular the residents of the municipalities of Chingola, Kabwe, Kitwe, and Mufulira, with a particular focus on addressing lead exposure in the municipality of Kabwe.

Despite the mine’s closure in 1994, locals told The Colonist Report Africa that its ripple effects are still felt in their day-to-day lives, and even World Bank funding has not compensated for the damage.

On August 23, 2019, law firms Leigh Day and Mbuyisa Moleele, based in the United Kingdom and South Africa, respectively, announced their intention to file a class action lawsuit against Anglo-American South Africa (AASA) on behalf of women and children living in Kabwe who have suffered lead poisoning, which caused and continues to cause permanent brain damage in the surrounding communities.

The Kabwe Claimants allege that this lead poisoning is a result of Anglo American’s historic mismanagement of the Kabwe lead mine.

Though Anglo-American claimed it was not in charge of the mine, victims’ lawyer Richard Meeran told The Colonist Report that the company had been operating in Zambia for 20 years, causing widespread environmental damage.

Continuous impact

Even though the incident occurred forty years ago, Kabwe residents continue to suffer from the effects of lead poisoning.

Six years ago, Mumbi Derrick’s twin daughters, who are in seventh grade, were diagnosed and tested positive for lead poisoning. He was stunned to hear the news, but all he got was counselling.

Derrick told The Colonist Report that his children have been vulnerable to lead poisoning, and he has not received any support from the government, whether from the state or the local council.

He said: “The government has done nothing; all we hear are just transitions in the media on what they are doing to suppress lead poison, but we do not see those results.

“But as of now, nothing positive has been put in place with regard to remedial measures to address lead poisoning in Kabwe.

Kabwe town was once known as a peaceful place with plenty of fresh air to breathe, but the emergence of the mines created a problem that began small and gradually grew into a full-fledged issue for the people of Kabwe, according to local sources.

Precious Mwamba, an expectant mother, told The Colonist Report that she inhales substances from the lead, the same as other pregnant women, as illegal miners continue to transport trucks full of lead. She expected that, as a pregnant woman, water, healthy food, and the environment would be a priority, which they were not, and she is concerned that the amount of lead poison in the community may not only contribute but trigger illness.

“Most times, people in the community suffer from influenza coughs and tend to have difficulty breathing due to inhaling these lead emissions.

According to Mwamba, who sells vegetables, the daily illicit transportation of lead-contaminated produce with heavy metal elements “Even after being washed, they[vegetables] remain contaminated with lead.”

Damas Semechi moved to Kabwe when he was 21 years old, and he said the community was a good place to live at the time. Semechi, who is now the Development Committee Chairperson of Waya Ward, told The Colonist Report that both the water that residents consume and everything people come into contact with is contaminated with lead.

He said: “The water people are consuming in Chowa and Waya areas is contaminated with lead,” and continued: “The gardens are all polluted with lead” and children also play in and around the lead-polluted environment.

According to Semechi, in addition to lead pollution, the trucks emit dust from the unpaved/untarred road, causing additional harm to residents near the mine. He explained that the road used to transport these deposits only passes through the community, so residents must constantly close their windows to reduce the amount of emissions trapped in their homes.

“The trucks passing from the black mountain [illegal mine] pollute the communities of Chowa and Waya due to emissions and excessive cruising, ” Semechi told The Colonist Report.

He, on the other hand, urged the government to pave the way and offer long-term solutions, noting that water samples are always collected to examine the quality of water residents drink, but the practice has ceased.

Lead, which impacts multiple bodily systems, is a cumulative toxin that is particularly perilous to young children. It is one of ten chemicals designated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as major public health concerns, necessitating Member States to take appropriate measures to safeguard the well-being of workers, children, and women of reproductive age.

According to the WHO, there are no known levels of lead exposure that do not result in adverse effects. “Young children can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects and disabilities, including in the development of the brain and the nervous system. Pregnant women’s exposure to lead can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and low birth weight.”

History of lead poisoning and fight for justice

In 1925, Anglo-American, a multi-national mining company, invested in a lead mine in Kabwe, Zambia, which reports allege that the company played a key role in controlling and managing until 1974 when Zambia’s mining industry was nationalised. The mine eventually closed in 1994.

Richard Meeran and Mbuyisa Moleele were first contacted in 2003 by a Zambian environmental organisation twenty years ago about Kabwe lead poisoning. The legal case is against Anglo American South Africa Limited, the former head office parent company of the group during the time of Anglo American’s involvement with the Kabwe mine. Anglo-American plc has now been headquartered in the United Kingdom since 1999, but the London company is not liable and could not be held responsible in London for the alleged widespread environmental lead pollution that occurred in Zambia before their headquarters was moved to the United Kingdom.

The lawyers, Leigh Day and Mbuyisa Moleele, filed a class action on October 20, 2020, in the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa, seeking compensation for those affected by lead poisoning.

Various United Nations agencies and Amnesty International in 2022 also intervened to join the class action against lead poisoning. The South African court admitted these UN experts as amici curiae in the [a] class action application.

Nevertheless, on December 15, 2023, the South African court denied certification for the proposed class action against the multinational mining corporation, Anglo-American, on behalf of 140,000 women and children in Kabwe, Zambia who claimed to have been poisoned by lead from one of its mines, despite support for the case from Amnesty International, the United Nations, and other international organisations.

In a 126-page judgement, Justice Leonie Windell stated: “The applicants seek permission to advance an untenable claim that would set a grave precedent. “The precedent is that a business could be held liable half a century after its activities have ceased, to generations not yet born, as a result of being tested against future knowledge and standards unknown at the time.”

Anglo American had consistently denied responsibility for the lead poisoning. In an email to The Colonist Report, the company stated that it “will fervently defend itself since we are not responsible for the situation in Kabwe – as the High Court in South Africa recently affirmed back in December 2023.”

While that judgement did deny the class action certification— it also acknowledged that a class action is indeed the only viable means for the victims of Kabwe to receive access to justice, saying, “Class action proceedings of this nature are the only realistic and appropriate method of determining these disputes.”

Anglo American stated, as shown in court filings, that “Leigh Day is seeking to hold only Anglo-American liable for a mine that it acknowledges we didn’t own or operate, but it misrepresents the facts and ignores those who did own and operate the mine over time.

“We have stated from the outset that this claim is entirely misconceived and it is clear that the Court has recognised its multiple legal and factual flaws, deeming it not in the interests of justice for the class action to proceed,” the company told The Colonist Report.

Leigh Day and Mbuyisa Moleele argue that Anglo American is the one misrepresenting facts and ignoring their historic role in Kabwe, with Meeran adding, “While Anglo claims that it is not liable for the situation in Kabwe because it was not the majority owner of the mine and was merely a ‘minor investor’, the relevant precedent is clear that control and management, not a majority shareholding, that is relevant to the existence of a duty of care under the law of negligence.”

There is also the question of whether or not, and to what extent, Anglo Americans knew about the deleterious impact that the Kabwe lead mine was having on the local communities. One witness, Dr Ian Lawrence, who was employed by Anglo American South Africa as a mine doctor at the Kabwe mine, claimed, in sworn testimony, that Anglo was aware of the dangers of lead poisoning in Kabwe as early as 1970.

Meeran told The Colonist Report that the December 2023 judgement is considered “fundamentally flawed and an appeal has been lodged against the decision.”

“The main issue the judgement turned on was whether the claimants had an arguable case, and what the judge included was that the case was found to fail, which we strongly disagree with; in fact, we believe it is strong,” he added.

According to Meeran, Doctor Lawrence, who visited the polluted areas of Kabwe in 1969, recommended that Anglo-America implement various remedial measures such as covering the ground with a layer of topsoil and relocating communities, but the company said it was too expensive and instead relocated only its employees. Anglo-American was contacted about this comment, but they never answered all of our inquiries.

Anglo Americans stated via email that “we are not in a position to address all of your questions due to the complexity of this matter given the very long history and the passage of time.”

What did the World Bank fund cover

In 2016, the Zambian government and the World Bank reportedly agreed on a 65.60 million dollar loan that included measures to reduce lead pollution in Kabwe. The project, funded by the World Bank is set to end on June 28, 2024.

According to the World Bank, the project consists of four components. “The first component, remediation of contaminated hotspots and improvement of environmental infrastructure, will finance specific remediation activities and associated environmental infrastructure in Kabwe and Copperbelt areas.”

Despite the World Bank’s assistance, residents claim they have yet to receive government assistance, and their roads are in poor condition, adding to the health problems of those living near the mine.

Further investigation by The Colonist Report revealed that the government had sunk 12 boreholes under the Zambia Mining and Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP).

The Colonist Report investigation also revealed that the government had spent more than $292 thousand on vehicles, including contract awards for drones and drone pilots from the World Bank fund.The procurement data shows that in September 2020, $44,000 was contracted for the procurement of a “motor vehicle for Kabwe,” as stated on the World Bank website.

The Colonist Report sent an email to the World Bank seeking comments on the evaluation of the project, and whether there are any ongoing negotiations considering the project end date is June 28, 2024. We also asked whether Anglo American were involved in supporting the World Bank with the loan provided to Zambia. The World Bank is yet to send a response to our request for questions as of the time of publication.

We sent a request for comments to the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment in Zambia which is part of the committee appointed to spearhead the Kabwe Mine remediation initiative but they have not yet responded. The ministry stated that the minister in charge is unavailable to respond to comments. Several efforts were made by The Colonist Report but the same responses were given. We requested to know what the ministry is doing to ensure Kabwe is a lead-free town and the impact of World Bank funds on the affected people.