(5 minutes read)
· Vedanta Resources Limited and Konkola Copper Mines Plc of Zambia will be compensating over 2,500 villagers in Zambia for causing significant water pollution to the region’s waterways
· Villagers alleged that the pollution severely impacted the lives and the livelihoods, particularly of people living in nearby villages
· It is still not known what would be liability on both companies to be disbursed to the villagers.
Vedanta Resources Limited and Konkola Copper Mines Plc of Zambia will be compensating over 2,500 villagers in Zambia for causing significant water pollution to the region’s waterways. www.trendsnafrica.com had earlier reported about this agreement between the London based company owned by an Indian origin person and the petitioners’ lawyers who have approached the London Court for awarding compensation. The settlement has come out of court and is expected to end the dispute, which has attracted world attention. The villagers were represented by Leigh Day solicitors, a London based law firm.
Vedanta Resources Limited and Konkola Copper Mines Plc, it is reported, have confirmed that they have agreed, for the benefit of local communities, the settlement of all claims brought against them by thousands of Zambian villagers. However, it is still not known what would be the bliablity on both companies to be disbursed to the villagers. The companies have to compensate thousands of locals including 642 children.
The dispute can be traced back to 2015. The Nchanga Copper Mine that employs 16,000 people in Zambia — the country’s biggest private employer sold a controlling share of its company in 2004 to Vedanta, which is one of the largest mining companies in the world. The villagers alleged that the pollution severely impacted the lives and the livelihoods, particularly of people living in nearby villages, such as Shimulala, Kakosa, Hippo Pool and Hellen — were the primary source of income is farming and fishing. It is alleged that toxic effluent discharge from the mine damaged local land and waterways used for irrigation, polluting water for drinking, washing and bathing. This caused severe health problems among residents. The villagers sought compensation for damages caused.
There was a dispute regarding the jurisdiction of the case. In a landmark judgment, UK Supreme Court said that the claim brought by 1,826 Zambian villagers against UK-based Vedanta and its Zambian subsidiary KCM can proceed to a trial of the substantive issues in the English courts. Vedanta on the other hand argued that the jurisdiction of the case was Zambia. But the issue whether a parent company can be liable for the operations of its subsidiary is still to be settled.
While deciding on the jurisdiction of the case, the Supreme Court in April 2019 said that the court of an EU member state cannot decline jurisdiction where the defendant is a company domiciled in that member state (in this case, the UK). The court said that the claimants had a bona fide claim and a genuine intention to seek a remedy in damages against Vedanta, even though establishing the English courts’ jurisdiction over KCM was also a key factor in their decision to litigate in England. The Supreme Court concurred with the arguments advanced by the plaintiffs that there was a real risk they would not be able to achieve justice in the Zambian courts due to lack of funding and legal expertise available. Significantly, more and more giant international companies are gradually beginning to be held liable for abusive operations in local African communities.
