Fri, 16 Jun 2017 12:49:51 +0000
By JACKSON MAPAPAYI
FIRST Quantum Minerals (FQM) has put its weight behind Civil Society calls for communities to share in the benefits of the nation’s mineral resources, and has called on Government to ensure tax revenues from the mining sector are well spent.
The mining firm, which is Zambia’s largest taxpayer, was responsible for more than a third of government income from the mining sector in 2015, accounting for US$3.3 billion of revenue to the State in the last 11 years.
FQM country manager Kingsley Chinkuli said it was for this reason that the firm has spent over US$43 million on its sustainability and community development programmes by aligning the Kansanshi and Trident foundation programmes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
He said true economic growth of a country was reflected in the state of health, education, agriculture and quality of life that its citizens live.
“Besides government, social investment plays an important role in nurturing the growth of a country,” said Gen. Kingsley Chinkuli.
Gen. Chinkuli was speaking ahead of this year’s 6th Zambia Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) which would be held under the theme “Mineral development for all, leaving no one behind”, and would take place from June 20-22, 2017 in Lusaka in parallel to the Zambian International Mining and Energy Conference (ZIMEC), a government-sponsored event that attracts the interest and attendance of key industry decision-makers from both public and private sectors.
He said the main goal of the ZAMI is to create a platform for communities, government, civil society organisations, and companies to discuss the real-life experiences of the costs and benefits of extractive industries and how best they could contribute to sustainable development in the country.
He said despite falling copper prices coupled with a challenging electricity supply, the mining sector has continued to be the country’s major productive industry, with a high contribution to exports and government revenue.
“We will join the platform provided by ZAMI to highlight the measures as a company we have put in place to drive growth while fostering conservation farming, healthcare, and business linkages in the areas neighbouring our operations,” said Gen. Chinkuli.
He also called on Government to ensure that it played its part in ensuring that tax revenue was well spent for the benefit of local communities.
The 2017 ZAMI would gather leading civil society members, government officials and industry experts and players from within Zambia and beyond to learn and share developments in the extractive sector and how mining activities could contribute to Zambia’s socio-economic development trajectory.
The Indaba would also provide for a forum to discuss practical solutions to challenges being faced by mining host communities.
