The Department of National Parks and Wildlife in West Lunga just received a transport boost with Grizzly Mining Limited donating a Land Cruiser worth nearly K700,000.
Principal Warden Operations Officer Matthews Mushimbalume said the donation worth more than K697,000 by Grizzly Mining would go a long way to cushion the transportation challenges that the Department was currently experiencing.
Mushimbalume was speaking on behalf of the Assistant Director for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Andrew Chombo at a handover ceremony held at the Department premises in Chilanga on Tuesday December 13 at which Grizzly Copper Mine (a subsidiary of Grizzly Mining Limited) was represented by General Manager Barbra Kafwilo accompanied by Grizzly Mining Limited General Manager Caroline Sampa.
Mushimbalume added that the donated Land Cruiser would ease the deployment and redeployment of officers as they attended to human-wildlife conflicts.
Wildlife officers in West-Lunga Area Management Unit would now be better able to conduct anti-poaching exercises.
“The problems that the communities experience, regarding negative interaction which they experience with wildlife, such as injuries or loss of human life, destruction of property and destruction of crops in the field which farmers experience from the crocodiles, buffalos, elephants and other species, will now be responded to quickly,” Mushimbalume said.
He further appealed to cooperating partners to consider donating more vehicles and other resources to enhance service delivery as Government alone could not provide all requisite resources for adequate operations of the department
Grizzly Mining Limited General Manager Caroline Sampa, speaking on behalf of Grizzly Copper Mine General Manager Barbra Kafwilo, explained that in line with Grizzly Mining’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) programme which ensures that surrounding communities benefit from their local resources, the company had decided to donate a Land Cruiser to DNPW Kasempa unit for officers to carry out their duties effectively.
“Our organization believes in the balance of economic growth and the welfare of society and the environment, and this is why over the years we have placed emphasis on operating ethically and sustainably in all the communities where we operate. This has enabled us to enhance social values and improve the welfare of the people in the areas we operate,” Sampa said.
Sampa further said that Grizzly Mining understood the pivotal role it played as a corporate citizen with direct social responsibility in the sustainable development process.
“It is therefore our belief that this vehicle will be of help in transport logistics to the Department of National Parks and wildlife patrols in the community of Kasempa District,” she said.
She further said over the years Grizzly Mining was mainly known for operating in Lufwanyama District on the Copperbelt, noting that the expansion into North-Western Province had facilitated the partnership with the Department in line with company policy.
“Our commitment is to ensure that we touch many lives in various parts of the country and also create quality jobs for the Zambian citizen,” she said.
The General Manager further thanked his Royal Highness Chief Kasempa for being a true agent of development and pledged continuous collaborations with traditional leaders in order to uplift the living standards of citizens.
