ABOUT POOR JUDGEMENT
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
1. Before arresting the KCM liquidator, Government should’ve first made a decision on how to proceed with KCM issue. Remember that it is Govt which put KCM into liquidation, albeit against the wishes of other shareholders such as Vedanta. Therefore if Govt decided to stop the liquidation, they can simply enter a consent judgement with the other shareholders in court.
2. Even if Govt decided to proceed with the liquidation process, they could’ve replaced the current liquidator before proceeding to arrest him for the alleged crimes.
3. The bottom line is that the liquidator needed to do a proper handover of the mine either to a new liquidator or to the management of the mine. For the past 3 years or so, the liquidator had total control of the mine without any oversight from a board. He entered into contracts and made decisions which the new liquidator or management will need to understand, hence the need for an amicable handover of the mine.
4. Additionally, there will inevitably be a protracted legal battle between Govt and Vedanta going forward. Such legal battle will boil down to how the mine was run by the liquidator in the past 3 years, and Govt will need the goodwill and institutional memory of the liquidator if it is going to put up a decent fight in such a legal battle. Even if Government halts the liquidation process, there will be a possible compensation claim from Vedanta for the period that the mine was taken away from them. So a legal battle is inevitable. And you need the guy who was running the mine to be on your side when such a legal battle ensues.
5. Overall, the arrest of the liquidator was done prematurely. It could’ve been postponed and done at the right time when the issues at the mine had been resolved. Bally has shot himself in the foot once more. Or more succinctly he has shot the Zambian people on the foot. Bally has put his personal hatred for the liquidator above the interests of the nation. He just couldn’t wait to fix the liquidator. He was oblivious to the bigger picture. The KCM issue was already a mess but it has now become messier. All thanks to Bally’s infinite wisdom.
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SET 29.09.2021