PF Has Destroyed Mines, Says Dr Chishimba
The Government must be magnanimous to admit that its own mining and energy policy failures are failing the nation and take responsibility for job and income insecurity in the mining sector, Saviuor Chishimba has said.
Dr Chishimba who is United Progressive People(UPP) leader said this will significantly help the nation in focussing on the root causal issues rather than the chronic focus on effects.
He said the current symptomatic management of the situation in the mining sector is not sustainable.
Dr Chishimba said lamentable failure of the government has transformed many mining areas into an appearance of glorified refugee cities that are ravaged by war.
Dr Chishimba charged that Chingola, for instance, which was one of the cleanest towns in Africa is now the dirtiest.
He said there is need to review all the mining development agreements that have for decades disadvantaged our nation, saying that the deals are so bad that the nation has little benefits from the mineral resources.
“Civil servants, men and women in uniform, and the formal sector employees, who are part of the 944 000 tax paying labour force, fund more than 85% of the entire national budget through high direct taxes. Revenues from the taxes that mining companies pay are insignificant as compared to the billions of dollars they make on the international market,” he said.
The UPP leader said there is need to undertake a labour law compliance audit at Mopani Copper Mine (MCM) and all mining companies.
“We have evidence on massive casualisations in the mining sector with mine workers earning as low as K400 per month,” Dr Chishimba said.
He said Mines and Minerals Development Act must amended to restrict quarrying to Zambian owned companies.
“Foreign investors may only come in as equity partners in this sector. This will see an upward increase in incomes among Zambians,” Dr Chishimba said.
He called for the Introduction of a policy which will restrict all mining supply contracts to Zambian owned companies.
” Under this policy, all supplies including equipment from overseas must be a preserve of Zambian companies. This measure will not only create more indirect jobs and retain money in the local economy, but also prevent the current frauds through price transfers,” the UPP leader said
He said UPP wants to see money circulating among Zambian suppliers in the mining sectors.
“Introduce a new legislation that will stop the useless Chamber of Mines to act a lobbyist organisation for mine owners who are continuously defrauding the people of Zambia while using our own citizens in the Chamber of Mines to defend acts of false accounting,” Dr Chishimba said.