Westgate residents at loggerheads with Chinese lithium mining company

Residents of the north-western suburb of Westgate in the capital are up in arms against a Chinese lithium mining company whose trucks are damaging a stretch of Acacia Road since it moved into the neighbourhood.

The residents expressed concern over the location of the lithium processing company in a residual area, as the trucks cause air pollution, make noise and cause traffic congestion.

They said the condition of the road had deteriorated rapidly under the heavy usage, since some of the trucks speed along as they bring in lithium from the mine for processing.

In an interview with New Ziana on Tuesday, spokesperson of the residents committee Naboth Machemedze said the location of the truck route was their major concern.

Machemedze said they had approached the firm, Sun E Mining Company, over the state of the road and they had said they were prepared to repair it, although they did not state when they would start doing that.

“We saw the company personnel on Saturday, and we presented our case, and they promised that after finishing what they are doing they will then repair the road. We are not yet sure whether or not they will fulfil the promise,” he said.

Ward councillor Kudzi Kadzombe said she was aware of the residents’ complaints.

“I have forwarded the report to the development control unit and district officer,” she said.

Contacted for comment, company representative Everson Chido said they had plans to repair the road.

“Yes we are going to repair the road, but at the moment there are leakages coming from a burst council water pipe. The residents asked us to repair, so there is no problem, rehabilitation of the road will be done,” he said.

The place where the company is operating from used to belong to Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries leader Walter Magaya who used it as guest houses before he sold it to the Chinese Company. New Ziana