Sat, 20 May 2017 09:56:27 +0000
By BENNIE MUNDANDO & ROGERS KALERO
DETAILS have emerged that Malawian Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s planned trip to Zambia was meant to finalise modalities to facilitate for the opening of Shepherd Bushiri Mining Limited, an emerald company in Lufwanyama district in which he owns 60,000 shares.
According to documents from the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), Bushiri and three others registered the company on September 15, 2017 after buying it from the previous owners, Malabo Emerald mine.
Prophet Bushiri owns a lion’s share while the other two Zambians Douglas Moyo and Caphus Lumanto own 13,330 shares each while another Zambian, Reuben Mpando, owns 13,340 to complete a 100,000 company shareholding.
However, sources close to the development said Prophet Bushiri’s main reason of coming to Zambia was to finalise with the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) and ensure the facility met the requirements for its reopening.
Sources told the Daily Nation there were also some officials who facilitated his purchase of the mine from previous owners using locals and that they were infuriated by Government’s decision to bar him from coming to Zambia this week.
“Prophet Bushiri bought that company sometime last year but it has not been operational since then because in its current form, it does not meet certain benchmarks stipulated by ZEMA. His failed trip was among other things aimed at working on modalities with ZEMA to reopen the mine since the firm had already advertised for jobs in various fields.
“However, his failed trip means that the mine will take a little longer to reopen and this has not augured well with some senior officials who are backing him some of whom are said to be business partners but are not listed among shareholders for obvious reasons that they did not want to be exposed,” one of the sources said.
On Thursday, a Daily Nation reporter who went to Lufwanyama was given a completely different story where a Mr. Kalomo is said to be the owner of the mine and that it was still under the name, Malabo Emerald mine.
A woman who identified herself as the daughter to Mr. Kalomo, only identified as Getrude, said the mine belonged to her father who was in Kitwe at the time and that Prophet Bushiri had only shown interest to invest in the company.
“My father is the owner of Malabo mine but Prophet Bushiri is an investor in the mine,” Gertrude said.
Gertrude, who had earlier shown willingness to go and show the Daily Nation the exact premises for the mine, suddenly changed her mind after consulting her brother.
She said she could not go and show the reporter where the mine was until the reporter got permission from her father in Kitwe but refused to give her father’s telephone number.
