ABOUT THE $15 BILLION PROPOSED ZNS SMELTER
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
1. The announcement by the Zambia National Service (ZNS) Commandant that the defence wing had obtained a $15 billion loan from China to build a smelter in North-Western Province, left some of us with our mouths agape.
2. The shock did not arise from the illogic of using a defence wing to implement such a project when we have appropriate institutions such as ZCCM Investment Holdings and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) which have appropriate corporate governance systems in place compared to ZNS.
3. Our consternation arose from the shear cost of the project. $15 billion dollars is way too much money for a smelter. Even ten percent of that amount would be way too much money for a smelter. Just to put it in context, the budget for Dangote’s much talked about petrochemicals refinery in Nigeria which is the biggest in Africa and the third biggest in the World, was $12 billion.
4. It is very likely that our good General at ZNS made a mistake when announcing this figure and meant to say $150 million or maybe K15 billion. As a matter of fact, it is not uncommon for people who are not financially adept to mix figures up and mention figures that raise eyebrows to those of us who are financially literate. Our journalists need to get back to our General and obtain a clarification on the $15 billion figure he mentioned.
5. If however the exorbitant $15 billion figure was correct, as announced by ZNS, then there will be little doubt in my mind that our Government is engaging in a money laundering scheme regarding this particular transaction. It means they are getting a loan whose purpose is disguised as construction of a smelter, when in fact the real purpose of the loan is being hidden from the Zambian people.
6. That would partially explain why the said smelter project is being implemented by the Zambia National Service, a defense wing, and not IDC or ZCCM-IH. Because the former is not subject to any corporate governance scrutiny whereas the later is. That means if Government wants to engage in money laundering, they are more likely to succeed by using ZNS instead of IDC or ZCCM-IH.
7. Ever wondered why the illegal mining at Kasenseli Gold Mine and the Sugilite Mines in Luapula as well as the illegal sell of Mukula logs and smuggling of mealie meal to DRC are all facilitated by ZNS?
Anyway, happy 59th independence anniversary. The Future is SET ✌️✌️✌️
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SET 24.10.2023