LETTER TO PRESIDENT LUNGU AND HON. LUSAMBO ON ZAMBIAN YOUTHS AND GOLD PROJECTS.
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Dear President Lungu and Hon. Lusambo,
Honourable Lusambo yesterday promised that leaders are willing to listen to youths if they can engage them in constructive dialogue and that includes the President. As a law abiding Zambian youth and writing on behalf of millions of like minded youths including those that have been openly expressing themselves, I present this proposal. I want to discuss this with Honourable Lusambo and President Lungu in person. The President is for all Zambians and parents should be happy that their children want to engage them in discussing the future of the country.
The Bank of Zambia will be buying processed gold, this means we don’t have to worry about navigating export procedures. Zambian youths want to have a stake in gold, Zambian commercial banks want to expand their loan portfolio by lending to viable gold projects. The Bank of Zambia has K10 billion to lend to Zambians through commercial banks. I don’t see any problem here, all I see are solutions.
The K10 b is good capital for gold mining and processing. All we need to do is bring Bank of Zambia, commercial banks, youth entrepreneurs, ministry of commerce, ministry of mines and ZCCM IH together to design viable gold mining and processing projects including hiring foreign experts where we don’t have local expertise to provide consultancy on these projects. The capital is the K10b made available by the Bank of Zambia. Commercial banks access it from BOZ and pass it on to youth led gold mining and processing projects in form of low interest loans. Mining, processing and business consultants are hired and paid to provide leadership and expertise on these projects. Using money from Bank of Zambia, the gold is mined and processed by youth led projects under the gold company and sold back to the Bank of Zambia. The Bank of Zambia pays the gold projects/ gold company through commercial banks that deduct loan repayments.
We don’t need any joint ventures with foreign firms. The youth led gold mining projects get 55% shares in the gold company and ZCCM IH gets 45%. Youth led gold processing projects get 65% shares in gold processing while the gold company gets 35%.
Moving forward no foreign firm should be given any license in mining projects so that as these local gold projects grow they venture into copper, emeralds, manganese and other minerals. That’s how we can gain control of our mineral resources, keep over $6b export earnings within the Zambian financial system and economy which can be used to support agriculture, tourism, energy, manufacturing and enable us build roads, schools and hospitals using local resources.
I have done my part as a Zambia youth, millions of Zambian youths await your repsonse to this proposal.
Thank you,
Alexander Nkosi.
(Development Economist: 0963190263, alexnkosi2006@yahoo.com)