A history of Maamba coal mine and its socio-economic impact on Zambia, 1968-2010.
This study examines the origins and development of Maamba Coal Mine and its socio-economic impact on Zambia. It demonstrates that although Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (U.D.I) in Rhodesia, 1965 was the key driver in the development of commercial mining of coal in the country, the art of mining had been done on a small scale by indigenous people in the Gwembe valley during the pre-colonial era. However, it was the import restrictions on Rhodesian coal imposed by Smith’s U.D.I that threatened Zambia’s copper industry to the point where the country established Maamba Coal Mine in 1968 so as to exploit its domestic coal reserves. This study investigates how Maamba Colliery recruited and retained its labour force. It reveals that the colliery pooled the bulk of its skilled workforce from the Copperbelt province owing to the working experience and technical schools which were in close proximity to the copper mines. Unskilled labour was recruited mainly from the local population in the surrounding villages. The study shows that in the early days, miners enjoyed good conditions of service, including the provision of recreational facilities as well as social services such as education and health facilities in Maamba township. This immensely contributed to labour retention at the colliery. This study demonstrates that Maamba Colliery was not spared from the woes of privatisation as it experienced operational problems due to lack of recapitalisation. In an attempt to stay afloat, the colliery retrenched some of its skilled workforce in 1997. The study also shows that Maamba Colliery had an adverse impact on the environment. Gaseous emissions caused lung diseases such as pulmonary tuberculosis and other respiratory infections. Water pollution in turn negatively affected human, livestock and agricultural activities. This study concludes that despite its negative impact on the environment, Maamba Colliery made a huge contribution to the country’s economy through its exports and those of various coal-fired industries such as copper mines, Chilanga Cement, Zambia Breweries, Zambia Sugar and Zambia Railways. Key words: Maamba Colliery, Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Privatisation, Recapitalisaion.
Coal mining--Zambia., Coal mines and mining--Zambia.
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