ZUPED ELATED THAT VEDANTA HAS STARTED FUNDING KCM
…..this will no doubt help cushion some of the challenges the mining firm has been facing
Lusaka… Thursday February 15, 2024 (SMART EAGLES)
The Zambians for Unity Peace and Development (ZUPED) is pleased that Vedanta Resources has commenced funding Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) saying this will no doubt help cushion some of the challenges the mining firm has been facing.
Vedanta Resources has announced that it has commenced funding to
Konkola Copper Mines and has disbursed its first US$25 million for employee salaries, contract labour as well as for other critical services needed to maintain the integrity of
the asset.
ZUPED President Ronnie Jere says the mining giant has been struggling and there were some rumors that some workers were put on forced leave.
“As ZUPED, we are elated with the news that Vedanta Resources has started pumping monies into KCM as promised. We are happy because this will help to cushion on the challenges that the mining giant is facing currently. As you maybe aware, the mining giant has been struggling and there are rumors that some workers were put on forced leave and others were pending retrenchments,” he said.
“And so, having heard that Vedanta Resources has started putting in some monies for operational purposes is a good sign that the mining giant is slowly getting back to it’s original status of being one of the biggest mines in the continent.”
Mr Jere further urged the government to expedite the process by way of fully dealing with the scheme of arrangement so that Vedanta can fully take over the operations of KCM.
“We hope that the scheme of arrangement is before the courts of law and pray that the courts may help to expedite the process so that Vedanta can fully take over KCM. And that all the promises that they made could be fulfilled. We want to commend government for closely working and monitoring together with other stakeholders to make sure that the mining sector is revamped in Zambia,” he concluded.
The ZUPED President further noted that the move by Vedanta to start funding KCM goes to show it’s commitment to run the firm thereby making sure that the country benefits from it’s natural resources.