NKANA MP WELCOMES MINING REFORMS

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 14:42:44 +0000

By Jossy Chaima

A MEMBER of Parliament on the Copperbelt has welcomed the initiative by President Edgar Lungu to institute reforms in the mining sector.

Nkana MP Alexander Chiteme said the idea by the President to institute mining reforms to get value from minerals was a great move for the development of the mining industry and the country as a whole.

Mr Chiteme said the reforms would give insight on mining value chain that the mining companies propagate.

He also welcomed the President’s idea of forming a committee to look into the operations of the mines.

Mr Chiteme said the committee would help in finding out if the claims by some mining giant that they have not been making profit for 17 years.

He said if the mines are not making profit, the country needs to find new partners that can make profit because the country benefits from profit-making entities.

He added that having an investor that has not been making profit for 17 years is not beneficial to the Zambian people because tax is paid from profitable companies.

Mr Chiteme said if a business does not make profit, it should not continue to run, especially for years.

“On behalf of the miners, ex-miners and my own behalf, I want to say that what was happening with the mines was unnecessary. People were forced to go on leave, income has been lost in the very few weeks that the impasse has been going on, in the pretext that people are making losses. It does not make sense for a company to operate for 17 years without making profit,” he said.