WE DIDN’T DO RIGHT BY THE COPPERBELT, LET’S DO RIGHT BY SOLWEZI- Kellys Kaunda

WE DIDN’T DO RIGHT BY THE COPPERBELT, LET’S DO RIGHT BY SOLWEZI

“But satire writes itself in Solwezi. Here, mining towns are home to earth-moving machinery that digs fortunes for others while the owners eat dust and die poor. The irony is so thick, you could mine it too”.

That’s an eyewitness account of Solwezi, a very fresh account which is as recent as yesterday. It’s Ambassador Anthony Mukwita’s picture of Solwezi.

That got me to think a little more about what Chief Nkana told the BM8 campaign team that paid a courtesy call on him, namely, his chiefdom sits on some of the most-sought-after minerals in the world and yet his people are among the poorest in the world.

The same can be said of Kitwe, Mufulira, Luanshya, Kalulushi, Chambeshi and Chingola.

This is a colonial legacy we have failed to overcome. It’s a legacy that allows mine operators to run them pretty much like any other business.

Any other business means bringing in capital, set up shop, employ x number of people, make a profit and pay the required taxes.

The colonial investor did exactly this. Their profits built other cities. Here, they lived in places such as Nkana East, Nkana West and Parklands.

We, the indigenous and black population lived in Wusakile, Chamboli, Chimwemwe, Buchi and Kwacha townships. The contrast was striking.

It was to right this wrong that we fought for independence. And independence came. But to imagine that 60yrs later, we are still stuck with Chamboli, Wusakile, Chiwempala, Lulamba, etc, we must be a lamentable failure!

In Solwezi, the Zambian government has an opportunity to right this wrong. So far, we are not moving in a direction that suggests we have the right policy instrument to do this.

The Zambian government is under the mistaken notion that the developments around Kalumbila instigated by the investor are all that is needed to right the wrongs wrought by the imbalanced development in other mining towns.

Government thinks when it allows local communities to form development trusts or send traditional leaders to South Africa to learn how the mines have developed local communities, then they have got it right.

The fact that five years down the line, there’s nothing to write home about is confirmation that something is not right.

You see, it’s possible that Kalumbila is going to become a modern town,  even a city. But this will be limited in scope because it will be directly connected to the mine.

Even the size of its corporate social responsibilities will be limited to communities in the immediate vicinity.

It will take government innovative policy to leverage mine operations there for comprehensive development stretching far beyond the immediate surroundings.

This will entail establishing value chains or forward and backward linkages involving all manner of enterprises.

To appreciate this idea, the Zambian government must task foreign missions based in countries with mines to submit reports to this effect. I have in mind countries such as Canada, Australia, Chile, Ghana and South Africa.

Mines are not like any other business. They involve our natural resources. And not just ordinary resources. We are talking about the bedrock of our economic existence. It’s God’s gift to us. We can’t approach it in the same way we approach other investments. This is ours first before it becomes someone else’s by extension. So,
let’s do right by Solwezi.