Pollution in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Region: The case of lead in
Zambia and South Africa

Mundu MWILA
International Development Studies Program
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), JapanFASID/IDRI Intern

February 2010

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1.0 Introduction
This paper examines the effects of environmental degradation, particularly mineral lead pollution, in
Zambia, a low income country and South Africa, a middle income country, which are both membersof the Southern African Development Community (SADC 1 ). The analysis for these two countries atdifferent stages of development will give insight into how low and middle income countries deal
with pollution as well as provide precedents on dealing with similar problems for countries within
the SADC region and beyond. This paper shows the important role of environmental protection
institutions in an economy by illustrating how the lack of such institutions could lead toenvironmental degradation by lead and affect human health through different pathways. This paper
also shows that though such institutions may exist, they may not be fully legally equipped to prevent
environmental pollution until their mandate is revised.

Through this paper, we will learn why a century of lead pollution in Zambia went on without any
Government regulations and how South Africa could not enforce regulations on environmental
pollution, including regulations on lead, even though this country had legislation for such purposes.
Furthermore, this paper shall show how the Dakar Declaration of 2001 influenced the phasing out oflead in not only Zambia and South Africa but the entire SADC region.

The next section therefore discusses the overview of the Africa region and the economic overview of
the SADC region and gives a brief description of the Dakar Declaration. Section 3.0 discusses lead
pollution in SADC and refers to regional agreements that have a bearing on reducing lead pollution.
Thereafter, a detailed discussion on lead pollution in the SADC region through case studies on
Zambia and South Africa follows with emphasis on the different pathways through which leadcontaminates the environment and approaches used to remedy the environment of the pollutant. Thissection also highlights the measures the two governments put in place to prevent futurecontamination by lead.

Finally, a discussion on the lessons learnt and conclusion which also prescribes the best practices inhandling the potential of lead pollution for SADC countries. As we discuss pollution in SADC, it is

1 SADC is a regional inter-governmental organization that comprises the following Sub-Saharan Southern African countries:
Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania,
South Africa, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its aims are to: integrate the region, alleviate poverty, harmonize andrationalize policies and strategies while its goals include establishment of a regional development fund, creation of a free trade area,
establishment of a SADC customs union and implementation of a common external tariff by 2010 and finally, establishment of a
SADC Central Bank and single currency by 2016 (SADC, 2009).

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important to address some of the historical issues in the next section that may have a bearing on
pollution on the African continent, particularly in the SADC region. This will give us proper insight
into understanding the problems the region has experienced with lead.

2.0 Africa Region
2.1 Overview of the African Region
Africa is the second largest continent in the world and is home to 14% (934million) of the world’s
population (About.Com, 2009). About 110 years ago, Africa’s population was recorded at 118
million while by 1990, the continents fast population growth had managed to slow down as highfertility rates were offset by high death rates attributed to poor health conditions, infectious diseases,
civil wars and the struggle for independence. However, by 1997, the continents population was
estimated at 778.5 million.

The sharp increase in population growth is attributed to improvements

in health resulting from economic growth; whereas improvements in health were through improved
general standard of health care as well as new and better medicines. Economic growth howevercomes with its own costs, which include environment degradation through pollution.

At current levels of population growth, estimates indicate that Africa’s population will reach 1.453
billion by year 2025 (UNEP, 2009). As population increases, it will need to be complemented by acommensurate increase in economic growth; as such, there would be even more demand on theenvironment for natural resources to meet new demand for finished products and services. For
instance, in South Africa, where almost 100% of power is produced from coal, power demand
increases due to an increase in economic activity, also attributed to a rise in population. By-productsof thermal power production such as sulphur dioxide may increase the probability of acid rain andconsequently increase environmental degradation. Furthermore, this may lead to environmental
degradation because in most African countries, there is a vicious link between environmental
degradation and poverty (UNEP, 2009). This is partly because individuals, private sector,
governments may not have sufficient resources to care enough for the environment and partly
because they may not rank environment matters as highly important. This is further worsened by thelack of proper laws and weak institutions to deal with pollution. Poverty and lack of institutions
therefore remain major causes and consequences of environmental degradation and resource
depletion. Estimates show that 40% of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa live below the poverty line
and that both income and poverty have been increasing (UNEP, 2009).

For most African countries, the 1980s were perceived as a lost decade mainly because of thenegative or slow growth experienced. Signs of recovery were only witnessed in the mid-1990s as thecontinent recorded an aggregate growth rate of 4% – 5 % with growth experienced in all regions

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except central and western Africa. The growth was attributed to better weather, improved
macroeconomic policies and improved agriculture but was, however, not sufficient to reduce poverty
by greater levels. Further, most African countries during the 1980s implemented the World
Bank/International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) and economic
liberalization policies. In most countries, these policies included the devaluations and abolishment of
fixed exchange rates, abolishment of price controls, improvement of parastatal efficiency, andprivatization in most instances (Oxford Journals, 2009). The countries only showed signs of
economic recovery in the mid-1990s and recorded positive growth beginning in 2000. Since then,Africa has recorded positive growth averaging 3% - 5%. However, Interpress (2009) argues that thislevel of growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty. Nonetheless, it is a step in the right direction as
the continent may in later period’s record higher growth levels that would be enough to significantly
reduce poverty.

The next section gives an economic overview of the SADC region and also prepares to discuss lead
pollution.

2.2 Economic Overview of the SADC Region
The SADC region has a population of 220 million. The SADC population makes up only 4% of theworld population (SADC Today, 2009). In 2004, the region had a total nominal GDP of US$296.4
billion of which 1.69% (US$5 billion) was Zambia’s share while 71.9% (US$213.1 billion) was
South Africa’s share, more than double the combined GDP of the rest of the SADC countries. The
region has enjoyed economic growth with most countries recording positive growth between 2002
and 2008, despite the post war disarmament in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and the continuing internal strife in Zimbabwe that has adversely affected economic
performance in these countries. However, by 2007, the two countries GDP had grown to US$11.6
billion and US$283 billion, respectively. As shown in tables 1 and 2, the growth rates for the pastseven years for the region have on average been positive. However, there are signs of growth in bothcountries as peace agreements and the power sharing deal in Zimbabwe begin to make progress.

South Africa consumes about 80% of the SADC region’s energy and is responsible for about 88%(112 million metric tons) of total green house gas emissions in the SADC region (SADC Today,2009). Figure 1 shows that the country’s total carbon dioxide emissions have been rising since the19th century while in the early 1930s the rate of growth became even greater. On the other hand,figure 2 shows that carbon dioxide emissions in Zambia in the early 1960s to the end of the 20th
century on average fell and only started to rise in 2000 and continued to do so at a constant rate.

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The SADC region has energy reserves of coal, petroleum and natural gas, with natural gas becoming
more significant in fields off Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania being developed.
About 80% of the region’s electricity is produced from thermal while the rest is from hydro andnuclear energy. Table 3 shows that power demand is projected to grow at an average rate of 4.4% perannum from 2009 to 2015 (SAPP, 2010), it is therefore expected that greenhouse gas emissions will
also rise at a rate commensurate to the rise in power demand unless the region finds an alternative tocoal which currently is the source for over 60% of its power. Ideally, what is desirable is thatgreenhouse gas emissions do not rise to a level where they can cause acid rain or cause significant
environmental damage.

Currently, Angola is the only producer of crude oil in Southern Africa and produces an average of
1.05 million barrels per day (bbl/day). This has in the post war era greatly improved the country’s
economic performance. Angola has 96% (5.4 billion barrels) of the reserves in the region with alesser amount of reserves located off the coast of other SADC countries such as DRC and South
Africa. The regions refineries are concentrated in South Africa, while one refinery each is located inAngola, Tanzania and Zambia.

2.3 The Dakar Declaration, 2001
The Dakar Declaration of 2001 was a declaration by 25 Sub Saharan African countries to phase out
leaded gasoline by 2005. The Dakar Declaration was preceded by the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) of 2002, which resulted in the launch of the partnership for cleaner fuels andvehicles. The partnership seeks to improve air quality across the developing world by encouraging
development of cleaner fuels, such as unleaded and low sulphur gasoline and gas oil and improved
technologies such as catalytic converters that can greatly reduce exhaust fumes (SADC Today, 2009).
The Dakar Declaration among other things sought to request regional blocs like SADC and theEconomic Community for Western African States (ECOWAS) to endorse the phasing out of leaded
gasoline in their priority programs and to contribute to the harmonization of standards and technicalspecifications (Clean Air Initiative, 2009). In the SADC region, the phase-out of leaded gasoline wasprioritized and the target of before 2006 was achieved by most SADC countries. Lead is abiodegradable, non-corrosive metal. In addition to being an additive in petrol, it is also used in paints,
vehicle batteries, candles, mobile phones, computers, televisions and many other things.

Exposure to lead occurs mainly through inhalation and ingestion and causes a range of different
ailments especially in middle aged and older individuals (SAHealthinfo, 2009). Exposure to leadeven in small amounts causes irreversible neurological damage in children resulting in reduced
school performance and lower test scores and may further result in a decline in lifetime earnings. In

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adults impacted upon by lead, hypertension, reproductive disorders, and other adverse neurologicaloutcomes may be observed. High exposure to lead causes reproductive disorders, severe damage tothe brain and kidneys in adults or children and ultimately death depending on the duration and extent
of exposure. Exposure to lead is even more dangerous for the young and unborn children and may
result in premature births, smaller babies, decreased mental ability in the infant, learning difficulties
and reduced growth in young children.

Most SADC countries with the exception of Mozambique and Zimbabwe (SADC Today, 2009) had
by 2008 managed to phase out leaded petrol. The two countries however indicated that they would
phase out the use of leaded petrol soon.

3.0 Case Studies on Lead Pollution in the SADC Region
Even though SADC countries committed to phase out leaded gasoline by 2006, most of them only
managed to do so by 2008. On a continental level, this was achieved mainly through the Dakar
Declaration of 2001 while at regional level the Harare Resolution of 1998, Maputo Declaration of2003 and more recently, the Lusaka Agreement of 2008 have all had different levels of influence on
reducing lead pollution. All these efforts generally deal with air pollution while the Dakar
Declaration specifically dealt with lead pollution. This has been a key instrument in tackling lead
pollution in the region as SADC member states are also party to the agreement.

Despite such efforts, there are other ways through which the heavy metal can pollute theenvironment and affect health. Furthermore, despite lead being a pollutant that greatly compromises
human health, for a long time in both these countries there were no programs to promote community
awareness about its harmfulness. This section shows how lead can affect the environment in theabsence of awareness programs, government regulation and institutions to protect the environment,
and the section also shows how pollution can compel such legislation and institutions to be enacted
and established.

3.1 Lead Pollution in Zambia
Kabwe is the provincial capital of Zambia’s Central Province. It is located about 140 km north of
Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, as shown in figure 3. The former Zambia Consolidated Copper
Mines (ZCCM), a giant government mining conglomerate, owned and operated mines in most of the
Copperbelt Province including the zinc and lead mines in Kabwe. Mining of lead in Kabwe started
in 1904 and ended in 1994. However, ZCCM mines were individually sold to different buyers withsome of the shareholding in selected mines being retained by a newly created investment holding

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company, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investments Holdings (ZCCM – IH), in the mid
1990s.

3.1.1 Lead contamination in Kabwe
Kabwe’s mines, which had deposits with lead concentrations greater than 20%, mined deep in theearth as smelters to process the ore were also set up (Afro, 2009). The rich deposits consisted ofsilicate, oxides and carbonates of lead that averaged 34% in lead concentrations. Although the city’s
mines generated substantial revenue for ZCCM, no attention was ever paid to its residents as the leadmines polluted the environment without any action from the authorities. The lack of action on
pollution was due to the country not having any regulations or environment laws during the entire
period of close to a century of mining operations in Zambia. This was a careless oversight on thepart of the colonial and post colonial governments. Smelters too were unregulated as they emitted
dust sized particles that settled in the surrounding areas. Even though Kabwe’s mines are no longer
operating, its remnants have poisoned the city with lead. In most affected places such as Katondo
Township where lead is highly concentrated, especially in slag heaps, soil concentration of up to
2400 micrograms/deciliter (mcg/dl) and blood concentration of up to 200 mcg/dl were recorded inchildren with an average concentration ranging from 50 mcg/dl to 100 mcg/dl. Blood concentrationof 20mcg/dl or greater will result in vomiting and diarrhea while a concentration of 100 mcg/dl isenough to impair brain development in children. Blood concentration in excess of 120 mcg/dl often
leads to death. The recommended or permissive level of lead in blood in the United Sates is up to 10
mcg/dl (Afrol News, 2009)

In certain cases, soil dispersal from the smelters and mining areas through wind up to acircumference of 20 kilometres in the surrounding areas of Kabwe, reveal higher than normal
concentrations of lead, zinc, cadmium, copper (Afrol News, 2009). As a consequence, Kabwe’s
vegetation, soils and water are contaminated with lead (BBC, 2009).

Clinical tests taken as early as 1970 indicate that children in Kabwe are exposed to lead poisoning.
Even recent studies on children in Kabwe have shown lead concentration of up to 300 mcg/dl withan average level ranging between 60 mcg/dl to 120 mcg/dl (Science in Africa, 2009). In a similarreport on lead pollution in Senegal where people died as a result of recycling vehicle batteries intheir backyard in order to sell the lead contained in them.

When the symptoms of lead poisoning first showed up in Kabwe, the community misconstrued them
to be ailments of a type of malaria until the health authorities notified them that the ailments were
due to lead poisoning. The area that was most affected was Katondo - a township located beside a

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stream that had previously been used to ferry waste from the mine. The groups most affected arechildren and youths scavenging the mine heap for lead remains which if found would be sold.

Due to the lead pollution, the Afrol News (2009) reported that the New York based Blacksmith
Institute Report for 2006 ranked Kabwe as the fourth most polluted city in the world. It depicted thecity as an example of how large-scale mining pollution in a low income country can affect the healthof thousands of poor families.

3.1.2 The Copperbelt Environment Project (CEP)
After the sale of the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) in 1995 as part of the privatizationagreement for the copper mines, the Zambian Government through ZCCM – IH retained theenvironmental remediation measures of pollution as new mine owners could not be held liable forthe problem they did not create. Therefore, potential new mine owners negotiated that Government
inherit such liabilities. As a result, the Copperbelt Environment Project (CEP) was established under
ZCCM - IH in 1997 for that purpose. Its establishment was also partly due to pressure on
Government of the Republic of Zambia from local environmental groups and the international
community to do something about the lead pollution in Kabwe.

With assistance from a consortium of western donors including the World Bank and the Governmentof the Republic of Zambia, the CEP was therefore developed. The consortium of donors pledged
US$50 million with the World Bank providing US$19 million in loans and US$21millon as grant(World Bank, 2009) while the Nordic Development Fund provided the rest - US$10 million(Langmead, 2009). US$15 million was exclusively set aside for Kabwe and the Copperbelt Province
for remedial measures for lead contamination and the careful disposal of uranium, respectively.

The aim of the CEP was to clean up hazardous mining areas in the country and protect people fromfurther pollution by strengthening institutions responsible for controlling pollution so that what
happened in Kabwe does not happen again anywhere in Zambia irrespective of the pollutant. In thefirst phase, the project focuses on the remedial measures of which examining the exact extent of thedamage shall be undertaken, while strengthening institutions responsible for environmental
management, particularly in the mining areas, will be the focus in the second phase. The
Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ), a national regulatory institution, is involved in the project
by approving the remediation measures. Ideally, the long term solution to this problem is to cover themine dump with vegetation or cap it with concrete in order to prevent pollutants from being blown
across the town.

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In September 2003, ZCCM – IH, through the CEP, requested the 2000 Katondo residents to relocatefrom their canal side houses so that the CEP could dredge the clogged canal so that in the event offlooding during that year’s rainy season, the flooded canal waters may not carry the toxins into
people’s gardens and yards. However, the residents resisted temporary relocation stating that they
did not have alternative housing. This therefore increased the probability of having a repeat of what
happened in the previous year’s rain season when the canal flooded onto its banks and into people’s
gardens (BBC, 2009). It is evident that community awareness of lead contamination was low;
therefore, efforts to educate the community about lead poisoning were initiated by the Kabwe
Environment and Rehabilitation Foundation (AFrol News, 2009).

The Daily Mail of Zambia (2010) however reports that the project has so far achieved eleven major
milestones that will minimize the health impact of lead contamination. These include the removal of
39,000 cubic meters of mine waste that had deposited at the road slag dump, demolition of defunct
plant infrastructure, removal of 51,000 cubic meters of dredged sediments from the canal margin (awaterway running from the mine to the town centre), the construction of eleven lead free play parks
and rehabilitation, establishment of an information dissemination centre with the civic authorities
office and construction of boreholes.

None of the reports studied so far address the core problem of dealing with lead pollution either by
relocating families in most affected areas or ensuring that mine dump sites are contained bypreventing further contamination of sites that are currently not affected. Furthermore, besides thebrief reports of successes of the project in the Daily Mail of Zambia, there are no other reports thatgive detailed records of achievements of the Copperbelt Environments Project’s. Further, attempts torelocate people without giving them a relocation site was a great oversight. It was therefore obviousthat the affected families would not relocate. However, they may still continue to be affected by thecontamination despite the canal getting dredged because some toxins could still be present. Much
more needs to be done by giving them alternative shelter and compelling them to relocate. This is fortheir best interests in terms of personal health and the nation’s at large.

3.1.3 Zambia’s Environmental Policy
As referred to earlier, the ECZ, a national regulatory institution, is responsible for environmental
regulation in Zambia. ECZ was established by the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control(EPPC) Act (Act 12 of 1990) to implement the environmental policy of the Zambian Government
while the institution only started operating in 1992. Prior to the enactment of the EPPC Act, noenvironmental regulation existed in Zambia. The Act has many provisions including guidelines onwater, air and the careful disposal of garbage. However, the guidelines on environmental impact

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assessment state that for all infrastructure developments of a certain scope, an environmental impact
assessment has to be undertaken and approved by the Environmental Council before any
construction could start. The Act further provides that based on the impact assessment results, in theevent that the Council disapproves the development of a project, the potential developer may appeal
to the minister responsible for environment who in this case is also empowered by the EPPC Act toeither overrule or approve the decision of the council irrespective of the results of the environmental
impact assessment.

The observation of such a law is that it may promote the unsustainable use of the environment
because in the ministers view, the project seemingly may lead to economic growth, however, when aproper analysis taking into account all the impacts of the project, including the environmental impact,
the results may reveal that environmental costs outweigh the benefits of the project. As such, the net
benefit of the development process may be negative. Such a scenario would inevitably create
environmental problems for future generations and is therefore unsustainable. It is therefore
important if phase 2 of the CEP could also address this matter by establishing that the council’s
decisions be final, subject to review only by the courts.

3.2 Lead Pollution in South Africa
The South African case of lead poisoning is uniquely different from the Zambian case in many
aspects. The South African case focuses on lead pollution in Besters, a semi-urban community in
Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal Province where the lead levels in children were observed to be higher than
10 mcg/dl. As shown in figure 4, Durban is located in the eastern part of South Africa. The major
sources of lead pollution in Besters are canned foods, air/dust/soil and traditional medicines. The
different methods under which lead contaminates individuals have become a source of concern eventhough lead problem did not receive much attention until the mid 1990s.

3.2.1 Pathways of Lead
Different levels of airborne lead ranging from 0.56 mcg/dl to 1.8 mcg/dl occur in Durban forresidential to industrial areas. By comparison, at a remote location near Durban lead levels wererecorded at 0.26 mcg/dl. The higher concentration illustrates that large numbers of children in
Durban are at higher risk than those residing outside the city. However, the prevalence of leadpoisoning in Besters, a relatively remote location outside Durban city, is evidence of a wide healthproblem in the entire Durban area. However, currently, there are no studies to show how widespreadthe problem is. From the latter source of lead, it appears that children with very high levels of leadcontamination would have contracted it from consuming cheap canned foods with lead solder. Other

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sources of lead contamination are local pottery vanished with lead and rain water collected from roof
tops made of materials that contain lead.

The South African case shows that there are different pathways of lead contamination resulting inexcessive exposures to lead and probably leading to the high concentration of lead. It further
suggests that with limited infrastructure like roads, electricity, piped water, hospitals and a local
economy based on subsistence farming, such a situation may possibly increase the risk of leadcontamination of children from traditional local foods, medicines and other causes. However, thisargument seemingly appears not to make a lot of sense because lead contamination is closely
associated with industrialization. Therefore, the less industrialized an area is, the less the likelihoodof lead contamination. This argument may apply if the remote area is involved in an activity that
exposes individuals to lead contamination. For instance, illegal vehicle battery operations where thelocals remove the lead contained in them.

The levels of lead contamination in Besters do not show a significant relationship between lead andchild risk behaviors contrary to what is typically found in other countries or other areas within South
Africa. It is likely that the location of Besters in an area where there is heavy dust that often finds
itself in both indoor and outdoor environments where children play may inevitably result in
extensive contamination of the environment and may make it difficult to fully comprehend the exact
source of contamination. Furthermore, the importance and existence of cottage industries onchildhood lead levels in townships is an important aspect to consider. Most household heads had
informal jobs or were self employed with a number of them involved in repair of appliances such asbatteries, electronics, welding and paint finishing. Such activities utilize lead solder and leadcompounds and can result in extensive contamination of the home environment. It is possible thatsuch activities are responsible for the lead contamination in Besters Township3.2.2 Efforts to Address Lead Pollution in the 1980s
However, despite the few reports showing how chronic lead poisoning has affected children of Cape
Province, the study in Kwa Zulu Natal also showed other places in South Africa that are affected bylead and possibly many others are yet to discovered. Despite such reports, public awareness on lead
pollution in South Africa in the early 1990s was very limited with not much effort to identify andaddress the root causes of the problem (Nriagu, 1996). One prominent method of controlling
airborne lead pollution was the removal of lead from gasoline which apparently was one of the major
contributors to lead pollution even though this did not exclusively solve the problem. Apparently, thebenefits of removing lead from gasoline were not immediate as children aged from 4 to 6 years old
in Cape Town were found to have the same average levels of lead as before, 10 years after the

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introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1983 (Nriagu, 1996). The average level of lead had therefore
remained constant between 1982 and 1991. However, the observation that even though lead had
been removed from gasoline, leaded gasoline continued to be sold on the market alongside unleaded
gasoline because the South African Government could not put a ban on leaded gasoline lest theyinconvenience consumers who owned old vehicles that could not use unleaded gasoline. The
decision to completely remove leaded gasoline in South Africa, as in most SADC countries, became
effective in 2006.

3.2.3 South Africa’s Environmental Policy
From 1965 to 1998, South Africa’s environment was regulated by the Atmospheric Pollution
Prevention Act (APPA) 45 of 1965. This Act sought to reduce or regulate pollution but had many
shortcomings including the lack of a national air quality standard and the lack of compliance andenforcement provisions or carrying out sanctions against those violating the Act. Therefore,
enforcement of removing leaded gasoline from the market would have been difficult under the laws
then. However, since the manufacture of unleaded gasoline is undertaken at refineries, it is possiblethat in such a case, violation of the law would not be possible. In view of such a weak law, and thelack of attention to environmental issues prior to 1994, the South African Government introduced the
National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), (Act 107 of 1998). The NEMA was introduced
following a comprehensive consultative process that took place after the adoption of a new
constitution in 1996, which had also laid the foundation for such a law to be enacted.

NEMA sets out a series of environmental management principles that apply to the interpretation andapplication of all legislation that may affect the environment (Envolve, 2008). Therefore, since 1998
various statutes that fall under NEMA have been enacted. These are the Air Quality Act (Act 39 of
2004), the Biodiversity Act (Act 10 of 2004) and the Protected Areas Act (Act 57 of 2004). Throughthese statutes, standards are set by the minister responsible for the environment while environmental
management inspectors, on air quality for instance, are empowered to monitor compliance tostandards. In order to effectively monitor the environment, violation of environmental regulations
and standards has been made equal to a criminal offence while inspectors have been granted moreauthority and powers. Furthermore, more legal provisions for inspectors to work with publicprosecutors, the police as well as other law enforcement officers were established. Therefore, alleconomic agents violating environmental regulations shall be prosecuted. For instance, if an
inspector has reason to believe that a vehicle, ship or plane has banned toxic substances on board,the inspector, working with the legal enforcement officers like the police, has the authority to delay
or cause to delay the vehicle, ship or plane until a thorough search is undertaken.

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4.0 Lessons Learnt and Conclusion
ZCCM operated its Kabwe mines from 1904 to 1994. During this period, the mines operated without
any government regulations on environmental pollution. Therefore, the only restraint ZCCM could
have had on pollution was its own internal pollution controls. Because of the lack of environmental
controls by the Government of the Republic of Zambia, over time, the environmental cost becamehuge and needed to be corrected without any further delays. Ideally, Government should haveestablished and developed environmental safeguard agencies to minimize the environmental damage.
This situation is different from South Africa where, through efforts to reduce lead pollution, theGovernment had as early as 1982 introduced unleaded gasoline. However, this regulation was notstrictly implemented as the South African Government could not do so because there were oldvehicles that still operated on its roads and could not use unleaded gasoline. In Zambia, however,such efforts by the Government only came much later after 90 years of environmental damage
through mining and other means. In any case, regulations specifically dealing with exhaust lead
pollution were fully implemented in 2006. Moreover, an institution to regulate pollution in Zambia
was only established in 1990, therefore, all the pollution prior, was never controlled. In this respect,
it may not be possible to fully estimate the environmental damage by lead for the entire period. It istherefore highly likely that any estimates made on the damage by lead may not reflect the true costof the damage and are therefore underestimated.

From the two cases of Zambia and South Africa, it is clear that a comprehensive awareness programon lead pollution in both countries was lacking until the problem became pronounced and thatperhaps pollution, particularly lead pollution, did not get much attention then especially in Zambia.
For instance, in Zambia, only recently was knowledge on this matter been widely shared. This wasafter the CEP was initiated. The media has publicized the sources of lead pollution in Kabwe while
the CEP has implemented awareness programs on prevention. We can therefore conclude that the
majority of the people, particularly the local communities are now aware of the problem and have atleast taken some minimum precautions even though, it has also been often reported that someindividuals still go to the lead mine to scavenge for the mineral remains in the hope of reselling.
Furthermore, even though the target group was Kabwe, there are spillover benefits to other mining
areas where individuals are now at least informed of the pollution problems that may potentiallyresult from mining.

Furthermore, unlike the South African case, the Zambian case did not consider the different
pathways through which lead could compromise human health. In the initial assessment of how
widespread the lead contamination in Kabwe was, the CEP did not show if there were other sourcesof lead contamination besides the defunct mines. It is therefore possible to deduce that the mining

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activities in Kabwe were solely responsible for the lead contamination. The two cases further show
the different methods used to reduce the misery of the local communities after the contamination hadtaken place. Even if none of these methods remedy the problem immediately, they at least lay thefoundation or set a precedent for addressing similar problems in future. They have done this byenacting or seeking to strengthen the legal framework under which oversight pollution institutions
operate.

In both countries, there was at least a period characterized by weak or no enforcement of legal
environmental provisions or even worse a period characterized by non-existence of environmental
regulations. Zambia did not have a legal regulatory framework while South Africa feebly enforced
environmental laws and did not set environmental standards. Therefore, the expectation is that thegeneral negative environmental impact in both countries may be greater than estimated.

Despite enacting legislation to deal with environmental pollution two years earlier, the ECZ only
started in 1992. Since then, ECZ still has only two offices, one each located at headquarters and the
Copperbelt Regional Office where most of the mines are located. While the inspectors have a rangeof authority and powers under the EPPC Act, similar to their South African colleagues under Air
Quality Act, they lack numbers which may compromise the quality of work done. Notwithstanding
the size and population of South Africa, its environmental inspectorate has a presence at
headquarters and at provincial level. The challenges of environmental degradation are vast stretching
beyond mining to other basic factors such as careful disposal of garbage. If the motive is really toprotect and to guarantee the health of its citizens, Zambia must therefore increase its inspectorate
team to cover all areas especially those that are relatively more industrialized.

It is possible that many developing countries may experience a similar situation as Zambia where
pollution went on for close to a hundred years unabated. In such a situation it becomes difficult or
expensive to implement corrective measures. Even though expensive, it is necessary to implement
corrective measures rather than not to do anything at all or defer such measures. It is therefore more
prudent to implement a development agenda simultaneously with an environmental management
plan so that the health of the local people is not compromised.

Moreover, if an environmental management plan is implemented along with a development plan, acountry like Zambia may reduce the burden of having to borrow funds from institutions like theWorld Bank in order to implement corrective measures after the environmental damage has occurred.
In conclusion on this matter, it is therefore important to implement the right policy the first time andsave on the environmental cost and on loans than to implement follow up remedial policies. For

Page 14 of 24

instance, Zambia is in the process of finalizing the development of the Sixth National Development
Plan (SNDP) whose implementation will begin in 2011. The SNDP has strategies for different
sectors, for instance on infrastructure development, so the SNDP must also have a component onenvironmental management so that implementation of infrastructure programs includes environment
measures as well. Furthermore, as is the case in least developed countries, most of them may haveplans which, though they exist on paper, may lack the willingness or commitment from Government
to be implemented. Therefore, if the environment is to be preserved for future generations, there
must be greater commitment to not only develop but to implement the plan as well. If suchcommitment exists, what it guarantees is prevention of the mistakes made on mining in the lastcentury characterized by a lack of Government regulation and institutions to monitor pollution inplaces where mining is taking place.

Phase II of the CEP will be implemented after the current phase I. Phase II will deal withstrengthening the regulatory powers of the ECZ so that it will be able to effectively deal withenvironmental regulation and avoid the reoccurrence of what happened in Kabwe and other mining
areas. Phase II must at least deal with environmental regulation where the minister responsible forthe environment has powers to overrule the decisions of the council. This particular aspect deals withthe provision that states that for all infrastructure development of a certain scope, an environmental
impact assessment has to be undertaken and approved by the Environmental Council of Zambia
before the project is implemented. The Act further provides that based on the impact assessment
results, in the event that the Environmental Council of Zambia does not authorize the developmentof the project, the potential developer may appeal to the minister responsible for the environment
who also has authority under the same EPPC Act to overrule the decision of the council irrespectiveof the results of the impact assessment. Such a law is retrogressive to development because ininstances when you have a corrupt minister, the minister may always overrule the Council and thismay have devastating implications on the environment, especially for future generations. Therefore,
the new regulatory powers must among other things review the EPPC Act such that the council may
be the final authority on environmental issues as opposed to having the minister responsible for theenvironment.

Page 15 of 24

5.0 Bibliography and References

About.Com: Geography (2009), Largest Continent – The World’s Largest Continent, Continents
Ranked by Area and Population, Retrieved from<http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/largecontinent.htm>

Afrol News (2009), Zambia’s Kabwe: Worlds most polluted place, Retrieved from<http://www.afrol.com/articles/22087>

All Countries (2010), Quick Maps for the World, South Africa Map, Retrieved from<http://www.theodora.com/wfb/south_africa/south_africa_maps.html>

All Countries (2010), Quick Maps for the World, Zambia Map, Retrieved from<http://www.theodora.com/maps/new9/zambia_map.gif>

British Broadcasting Corporation (2009), Zambia’s Child Poisoning Tragedy Retrieved from<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3241037.stm>

Development Zambia (2009), Money Secured to Tackle Pollution, Retrieved from<http://www.langmead.com/development/copy/17.htm>

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre (2009), Retrieved from <www.cdiac.ornl.gov>

Clean Air Initiative (2009), Regional Conference on the Phasing Out of leaded Gasoline in
Sub-Saharan Africa – Dakar Declaration, Retrieved from<http://www.cleanairnet.org/ssa/1414/articles-36204_dakar_pdf.pdf>

Copperbelt Environment Project (2009), About Copperbelt Environment Project, Retrieved from<http://www.cepzambia.org.zm/>.

Southern African Institute for Environment Assessment (2009), Environmental Impact Assessment
in Southern Africa: Summary and Future Focus, Retrieved from<http://www.saiea.com/saiea-book/Summary1.pdf>

Daily Mail of Zambia (2010), Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines – Investment Holdings(ZCCM-IH) Undertakes Lead, Retrieved fromPage 16 of 24

<http://www.daily-mail.co.zm/media/news/viewnews.cgi?category=8&id=1260781870>

Envolve (2010), Enforcement of Air Quality in South Africa, An Overview prepared for the United
Nations Environment Programme, Eastern Africa Workshop for better Air Quality in Cities, 21st-23rd
October 2008, Retrieved from<http://www.unep.org/urban_environment/PDFs/EABAQ2008-airqualitylegislationSAOct08.pdf>

Google Maps (2010), Map of Zambia, Retrieved from,<http://www.allcountries.org/maps/zambia_maps.html>

Interpress (2009), Africa Registers the Fastest Growing Economy, Retrieved from,<http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/30/091.html>

Southern African Development Community Today (2009), Volume 8, Number 4, Retrieved from<http://www.sardc.net/editorial/sadctoday/view.asp?vol=223&pubno=v8n4&page=SUMMIT>Southern African Development Community Today (2009), Volume 10, Number 6, Retrieved from<http://www.sardc.net/editorial/sadctoday/documents/v10n6.pdf>

Southern African Power Pool (2010), Southern African Power Pool, Statistics - 2008, Retrieved 2010,<http://www.sapp.co.zw/viewinfo.cfm?id=47&linkid=2&siteid=1>

Science in Africa, Africa’s First On-Line Science Magazine (2009), Lead Poisoning –Neighbourhood May Relocate, Retrieved from<http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/march/zambialead.htm>

South Africa Health Information (2009), Burden of Disease, Retrieved from,<http://www.sahealthinfo.org/bod/lead.htm>

University of Western Cape (2009), Acid Rain, Retrieved from,<http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/acidrain.htm>

United Nations Environment Programme (2009), Lusaka Agreement 2008 – Southern African
Development Community Regional Policy Framework on Air Pollution, Retrieved from,<http://www.unep.org/urban_environment/PDFs/SADC-LusakaAgreement.pdf>

Page 17 of 24

United Nations Environment Programme, Retrieved from(http://www.unep.org/DEWA/Africa/docs/en/AEO2_Our_Environ_Our_Wealth.pdf), 2009

Oxford Journals (2009), The Royal African Society, Zambia Under the International Monetary Fund
Regime, <http://www.jstor.org/pss/722896>

Wikipedia (2009), Kyoto Protocol, Retrieved from, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol>

Wikipedia (2010), List of Countries by GDP Growth, Retrieved from,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_growth_1990%E2%80%932007

World Bank (2009), Zambia: Copperbelt Environment Project,<http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/ZAMBIAEXTN/0,,
contentMDK:20100085~menuPK:375716~pagePK:2865066~piPK:2865079~theSitePK:375589,00.
html>

World Bank (2009), Africa Development Indicators for 2008-09

Page 18 of 24

Table 1: GDP per capita
Series : GDP per capita (constant 2000 US$)
2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Angola

710.9

711.8

767.4

898.7

1,036.2

1,213.3

1,356.8

Botswana

3,783.1

3,975.9

4,189.4

4,335.8

4,410.7

4,541.0

4,440.0

81.5

83.6

86.4

90.4

92.4

95.4

98.5

Lesotho

424.5

437.2

453.3

453.0

486.2

508.1

525.2

Madagascar

221.7

236.6

242.2

246.4

251.7

260.2

270.8

Malawi

129.2

133.9

137.9

137.9

145.4

154.0

164.7

Mauritius

4,003.9

4,089.1

4,244.7

4,403.5

4,526.5

4,709.2

4,928.7

Mozambique

270.4

279.7

294.7

312.4

332.4

349.1

364.7

Namibia

2,133.6

2,194.4

2,432.4

2,461.9

2,603.3

2,665.3

2,692.4

Seychelles

7,266.5

6,913.0

6,740.4

7,209.0

7,650.5

8,164.6

8,267.4

South Africa

3,127.8

3,186.3

3,301.9

3,425.5

3,569.9

3,715.8

3,763.8

Swaziland

1,391.3

1,436.6

1,463.3

1,483.1

1,509.2

1,542.2

1,558.5

Tanzania

287.7

296.0

307.5

321.1

333.3

347.1

362.4

Zambia

317.9

328.6

338.8

348.3

361.3

374.5

387.3

Zimbabwe

549.8

492.9

474.9

450.3

Congo, Dem.
Rep.

Source: World Bank

Page 19 of 24

Table 2: GDP growth
Series: GDP growth (annual %)
2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Angola

14.5

3.3

11.2

20.6

18.6

20.3

14.8

Botswana

3.3

6.3

6.5

4.7

3.0

4.2

-1.0

3.5

5.8

6.6

7.9

5.6

6.3

6.2

1.6

3.9

4.6

0.7

8.1

5.1

3.9

Madagascar

-12.7

9.8

5.3

4.6

5.0

6.2

6.9

Malawi

-4.4

6.3

5.7

2.6

8.2

8.6

9.7

Mauritius

2.7

3.2

4.7

4.6

3.6

4.7

5.3

Mozambique

8.8

6.0

7.9

8.4

8.7

7.0

6.5

Namibia

4.8

4.2

12.3

2.5

7.1

4.1

2.7

Seychelles

1.2

-5.9

-2.9

7.5

8.3

7.3

2.8

South Africa

3.7

3.1

4.9

5.0

5.3

5.1

3.1

Swaziland

1.8

3.9

2.5

2.2

2.9

3.5

2.5

Tanzania

7.2

5.7

6.7

7.4

6.7

7.1

7.5

Zambia

2.7

5.7

5.4

5.2

6.2

6.2

6.0

Zimbabwe

-4.4

-10.4

-3.8

-5.3

Congo, Dem.
Rep.
Lesotho

Source: World Bank

Page 20 of 24

Table 3: Electricity Demand Forecast
Annual Maximum Peak Electricity Demand Forecast MWCountry

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Angola

897

1016

1114

1217

1320

1426

1540

1657

Botswana

563

675

737

795

817

864

904

928

Congo, Dem. Rep.

1179

1220

1262

1306

1351

1398

1446

1496

Lesotho

111

117

123

127

132

138

144

150

Malawi

268

287

306

376

394

412

430

448

Mozambique

418

478

557

583

609

636

662

714

Namibia

475

485

509

531

576

599

623

651

South Africa

38201

39811

41524

43283

45125

47085

49116

51204

Swaziland

204

213

223

233

245

255

264

271

Tanzania

772

810

844

879

916

955

995

1037

Zimbabwe

2186

2230

2281

2345

2414

2484

2558

2643

Zambia

1752

1908

1935

2095

2341

2395

2420

2446

Total

47026

49250

51415

53770

56240

58647

61102

63645

4.73

4.40

4.58

4.59

4.28

4.19

4.16

% Change

Source: Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)

Page 21 of 24

Figure 1: Greenhouse Emissions in South Africa
South Africa
120000100000Total CO2 emissions from fossil-fuels (thousand
metric tons of C)
Emissions from solid fuel consumption

Total Emissions

80000

Emissions from liquid fuel consumption
Emissions from gas fuel consumption

60000

Emissions from cement production
Emissions from gas flaring

40000

Per capita CO2 emissions (metric tons of carbon)

20000

04
20

84

19

19

64

44
19

24
19

19

18

04

84

0

Year

Source: Carbondioxide Information Analysis Centre (CDIAC)

Figure 2: Greenhouse Emissions in Zambia
Zambia1400

1200
Total CO2 emissions from fossil-fuels (thousand
metric tons of C)

1000

Total Emissions

Emissions from solid fuel consumption
Emissions from liquid fuel consumption

800
Emissions from gas fuel consumption

600

Emissions from cement production
Emissions from gas flaring

400
Per capita CO2 emissions (metric tons of carbon)

200

04
20

99
19

94
19

89
19

84
19

79
19

74
19

69
19

19

64

0

Year

Source: Carbondioxide Information Analysis Centre (CDIAC)

Page 22 of 24

Figure 3: Zambia Map

Source: All Countries

Page 23 of 24

Figure 4: South Africa Map

Source: All Countries

Page 24 of 24