TAKE WHAT UPND SAYS WITH A PINCH OF SALT – MUNDUBILE
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Brian Mundubile says the revelation that currently, there’s only a verbal agreement between government and Vedanta is a lesson that whatever UPND says should be taken with a pinch of salt.
On Friday last week, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe disclosed that there currently exists a verbal agreement between government and Vedanta pending the signing of the deal.
But commenting on this in an interview`, Saturday, Mundubile said Zambians should realise that whatever UPND says must be taken with a pinch of salt.
“From what we have learnt now, it should be a wake up call to the Zambian people that whatever the UPND says should be taken with a pinch of salt. At the same time, it should be a very good reminder to the UPND that they should for once take the lives of the Zambian people seriously.
The challenges in the mining sector, the challenges on the Copperbelt require
a serious intervention not what they are getting now. It is indeed a very sad statement; you know that the people who have been charged with the responsibility to manage the affairs of this country take it very casually about where they go, he said.
And Mundubile said it appeared the
UPND top leadership was trying to benefit from the deal.
“For me, this could be evidence of something more, I don’t think this whole thing is not designed. Bad as it may be, there should be some design somewhere where the UPND top leadership is going to benefit from this bad deal, this non existent [deal], there is a benefit that is going to accrue to the UPND. For them, in every deal, they make sure that they walk away as victors. The Zambian people
are never a priority but themselves. Remember that up to now, there has never been a response as regards to the syndicated mechanised operation that has been happening in KCM under the name of Senseli Mining. Sensel Mining is a serious operation in KCM that government has failed to explain what it is all about and who is behind it,” he said.
“A verbal agreement made over a glass of whiskey can sound very nice. What we expected to see was commitment on paper. And last time, we said even if the commitment of the agreement was on paper, Vedanta has a reputation of not honouring or respecting agreements including court orders. Even at that time we were saying how will we trust that this person will honour the agreement.
Now can you a imagine that according to honourable Kabuswe, Vedanta who signed
a written agreement with the PF and defaulted on them, they called him to say the new Vedanta is more serious, to the UPND, he is more serious because they
now only have verbal agreements, can you imagine that?”
“His reasoning is that Vedanta is more serious when they have entered into a verbal agreement and not when the PF government entered into an agreement with him in writing. But in this case, the UPND thinks Vedanta is more serious because he committed himself verbally. The question maybe is who is not serious in this whole thing? So, it is regrettable, it is a very sad state of affairs and the Zambians must wake up and realise that the country has been left in very dangerous hands”
He said UPND did not have any serious plans to resolve problems in the mining sector.
“Honourable Kabuswe when we questioned him on the floor of the House as to what plans they have in place should Vedanta operate in its usual style of not respecting agreements, the response from honourable Kabuswe was that there was a clause in the agreement what they called a deemed offer [indicating] that when there is a breach on any of the terms of the agreement, it will be deemed to be an offer back to government. Now, if today we are told there was nothing signed, where is that deemed offer? How will the courts tomorrow interpret that deemed offer which was never written anywhere? So, it goes to show that the UPND government has no serious plans to resolve the challenges in the mining sector,” said Mundubile.
“Number two, it shows that they are in a hurry to appease the citizens even when there is nothing. Can you imagine what is happening – the amount of suffering of the people on the Copperbelt today they will be told that nothing has been signed, it was just a talk show, it was just a chat over coffee or maybe whisky and then you go to the nation and announce that you have reached an agreement.
You even cause the President to present to Parliament a statement that now we have reached an agreement with KCM and yet the facts are totally different”
(Credit: News Diggers)
This is what the opposition should be raising a lot of dust about instead of making noise that the President did not attend the day of prayer meeting. Surprisingly, the opposition is quiet on this very important, matter. Where is SP’s Dr. M’membe? He is sleeping on duty.
Truly, it is mind boggling for the Minister to tell parliament that there is only a verbal agreement with Vedanta. Really? A verbal agreement with a rogue company like Vedanta? So in that verbal agreement, who said what, when, where and to who? How does the UPND government intend to enforce this verbal contract?
I thought we were in secure hands, but with this revelation, I am not sure.