ZCCM-IH, KINDLY RESPOND TO ANDYFORD MAYELE BANDA’S QUERIES.
2 January 2024
When the announcement that KCM was to be sold to Vedanta, a friend of mine, Joe Chilaizya, and I tried to check out the companies profile to assure ourselves that the deal was worth it for Zambia.
We were surprised at the lack of information on Vedanta at the time. We tried to raise concern as Heritage Party then but no attention was made to our caution and the deal went through. The rest, as they say, is history.
Andyford Muyele Banda, President of the People’ Alliance for Change, has done a similar search with regard to the announced proposed buyers of Mopani Copper Mines – International Resources Holdings of Abu Dabhi.
He raises some very concerning observations as well as pertinent questions, that need to be responded to by those in Government.
Zambians need these questions answered.
As New Heritage Party, we join ourselves to Andyford Banda’s quest for answers to the questions that he raises.
For ease of reference, we reproduce Andyford Banda’s letter to ZCCM-IH in its entirety.
CHISHALA KATEKA
President – New Heritage Party
“MOPANI HAS BEEN BOUGHT BY AN UNKOWN COMPANY-ANDYFORD BANDA
…the company has no known shareholders, website and no known subsidiaries and the digital footprint is almost non-existent…
The Chief Executive Officer
ZCCM-IH Office Park Stand No, 16806, Alick Nkhata Road D 25 DEC 2023 h
Mass Media Complex Area
Po Box 30048 Lusaka, 10101.
Dear Sir,
REF: REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES HOLDINGs (IRH)
The above refers.
Firstly, congratulations on finally finding a strategic equity partner in Mopani Copper Mines, this is indeed great news for Zambia and for the people of Mufulira.
We hope that this deal is completed and that the new partner moves on site as soon as possible to inject the much needed capital and human resource.
In as much as this maybe exciting, it is also concerning as we have noticed some gaps in the them new deal profile of the International Resources Holdings (IRH) of Abu Dhabi.
For starters when was first announced to the nation, I the undersigned personally tried to look the internet and couldn’t find them anywhere.
The closest I could find was International Holding Company (IHC) which from our preliminary checks has nothing to do with IRH and they don’t have any business in the mining sector.
After the deal was announced on Friday by the President, I rechecked again and found the website with so many gaps and just generic information.
It is for this reason that we have been compelled to write to your office to request for more information which you definitely must have within your custody looking at the fact that you just completed your due diligence.
As a publicly listed company with the government owning over 75% of the shares and the recent passage of the Access to Information Law, we would appreciate if you can furnish us with more information on your preferred strategic equity partner in the interest of the public and other private shareholders.
Below is the information that we request your organization to furnish us with:
1. Shareholders-Who are the shareholders of IRH to the minute detail. What l mean to the minute detail, I mean if its a corporate body, we want to know all the shareholders of the corporate bodies to the minute detail., This must be accompanied by documentation.
2. We noticed that the company has no traceable operations of any sort including mining. value addition, commodity trading, refinery and other areas as claimed by their website. From your due diligence, kindly provide information they provided to you with as regards to experience and their areas of operations. When was the company incorporated in Abu Dhabi?
3. The announcement indicates that IRH will leverage on the experience of its subsidiaries. Who are its subsidiaries? How come they are not named on the website? Which mines are they running? And a question for you ZCCM-IH especially the team that was conducting due diligence, did you physically visit any of these subsidiaries they claim to have?
4. Who are the top management/key people and what experience do they possess in running and resuscitating operations?
5. We would like to have dig into their five year financial statements which I must assume you have as an investor of this magnitude you need to do at least 5 years’ assessment on their financials.
6. The announcement indicates that IRH has over 120 professionals. What does this mean? Are they consultants or who do they work for? Who owns the mines where the 120 professionals operate from?
I am sure you do understand that Mopani Copper Mines is a critical asset for the country with proven mineral deposits. It is for this reason that those the President entrusts with such a task they care to find the right strategic equity partner with proven track record and capital.
We look forward to receiving this information and we look forward to support you conclude this transaction.
Yours Sincerely
Andyford Mayele Banda
President
Peoples Alliance for Change”