HH’S SILENCE ON KCM, MOPANI WORRIES CSO LEADER
… President HH should unlock the mining sector without any further delay, says Samuel Banda
Lusaka… Thursday August 10, 2023 (SMART EAGLES)
The silence from President Hakainde Hichilema over the future of Konkola Copper Mine and Mopani Copper Mine is worrying, says Advocates for National Development and Democracy Executive Director Samuel Banda.
Mr. Banda notes that despite the failure by the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Hon Paul Kabuswe to revamp the mining sector, the Head of State has kept quit and failing to give direction on the future of the two mining firms.
Mr. Banda has demanded that President Hichilema should promptly handover KCM back to Vedanta Resources who are the legal owners in order to increase economic activities on the Copperbelt.
He further notes that any further delay may result in a worse situation as the poverty levels on the Copperbelt are increasing sharply.
“President Hakainde Hichilema should address and update the nation on the two status of KCM and Mopani mines. We are appealing to him (President Hichilema) in the interest of revamping the mining sector, he should update the nation and tell us how far the negotiations have reached with Vedanta Resources regarding KCM. And he should also update us on when exactly he will engage an investor to operate Mopani mine. Even as his government is engaging the investors to run our mines, President Hichilema should prioritize the interest of Zambians,” he said.
“It is clear that his Minister of Mines, following several disappointments regarding the official announcement as in when government will handover KCM back to Vedanta Resources, his Minister has disappointed us. It is clear that his minister is not in a position to revamp the mining sector and to successfully engage investors. Therefore, President Hichilema being the head of state and considering what he promised the people of Zambia that he will revamp the mining sector, he should honor his promise and engage investors as soon as possible. The non functionality of these two mines, they have continued to impact our economy negatively.”
Mr. Banda stated that government should also ensure that local contractors and suppliers are prioritized when it comes to business.
“The people of the Copperbelt depend on mining as their mainstay business. Students are looking up to the mines for school scholarships, suppliers, contractors are looking up to the mind for business opportunities. As this continued delay by the government is inflicting poverty on the people the Copperbelt and the people of Zambia. Today our national currency is not stable because we are not exporting Copper at a huge volume because of the non – functionality of these two mines,” he added.
“We are worried that his government may not even achieve the three million metric tones copper production target by 2031 which his government set because of the continued delay to unlock in KCM and Mopani Copper Mine. Therefore, we are demanding that President Hichilema should promptly handover KCM back to Vedanta Resources who are the legal owners of the mine because they are the major shareholder as they hold 80%. Otherwise, this delay is not just affecting the Copperbelt economy but is also affecting our economy.”
He said stakeholders do not expect any further delay to handover KCM back to Vedanta and subsequently finding a partner to run Mopani Copper Mine.