CONSORTIUM OF CSOs TO PROTEST ON 12th AUGUST 2023, PETITION PRESIDENT HICHILEMA OVER GOVERNMENT’S DELAYMENT TO RESOLVE KCM AND MOPANI CHALLENGES
Lusaka… Saturday July 8, 2023
First of all, we wish to commend President Hakainde Hichilema and the new dawn administration for sealing a 6.3 billion US dollar debt restructuring framework agreement with creditors.
We congratulate President Hakainde Hichilema for working extremely hard to ensure that the government successfully achieved the debt restructuring framework agreement, this is not a mean achievement.
We are profoundly optimistic that the debt restructuring agreement will boost investors’ confidence and attract both direct and foreign investments into our country across all economic sectors and grow our domestic economy if the IMF bailout loan will be invested in productive sectors such as mining, agriculture and manufacturing.
However, we wish to categorically state that without opening up and unlocking key economic sectors that drives development in our country such as the mining sector, the debt restructuring agreement won’t have a positive transformational impact on our country’s socio-economic status.
The cost of living will continue rising, the unemployment levels will continue increasing, poverty levels will continue going up and our national currency will continue underperforming. Generally the economy will continue shrinking.
We wish to remind government and the people of Zambia that mining remains our economic backbone and a major source of our foreign currency earnings, hence this is why in good faith we have been advocating that government unlocks KCM and Mopani in the interest of restoring national economic development. This is also the only way to ensure the copperbelt economy does not fall into further recession.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are deeply saddened that the second quarter just ended and yet government has not made a critical decision on addressing the non functionality status of KCM and Mopani mines. This is despite several assurances from the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Hon Paul Kabuswe that government will soon unlock the mining sector. Actually government had promised to unlock the mining sector sector in the first quarter of 2023.
We cannot continue moving on this trajectory, we now feel that the Minister of Mines is not helping President Hakainde Hichilema to address operational challenges of KCM and Mopani mines. The minister is on record saying the process is complicated and that people cannot comprehend the negotiations process, however that leaves us wondering how the minister expects Zambians, who are the main stakeholders, to understand if he is not updating the nation on progress made regarding KCM and Mopani. We expect profound transparency on the negotiations.
We believe that President Hakainde Hichilema has shown committment to revamp the mining sector but unfortunately we feel his Minister is not effectively and efficiently helping the president to resolve challenges surrounding KCM and Mopani.
Therefore in the interest of unlocking the mining sector for the purpose of restoring national economic development , we wish to inform the public that due to continued delayment by the government to address the non functionality status of KCM and Mopani we shall exercise our constitutional right to protest on the 12 August 2023 off course within the confines of the law. We also wish to inform the nation that, after the protest, we shall proceed to petition the President over this matter.
Our interest is to see our country develop a viable mining sector that will create the much needed employment, business opportunities support commerce and trade, increase our GDP, stabilize our national currency, grow our domestic economy and improve the living standards of every Zambian.
We believe Zambians are very hard working people, all they need is opportunities. We believe mining sector presents great opportunities for our fellow Zambians. Hence it is very imperative that government unlocks the mining sector.
God bless Zambia.
Advocates for National Development and Democracy Executive Director Samuel Banda
Zambians for Unity Peace and Development President Ronnie Jere
Thank you and God bless Zambia