THE emeralds industry has been invaded by crooks who are hiding in the name of investors and are also bringing foreigners from West Africa to come and do jobs which can be done by Zambians,” the Emerald Watch Production of Zambia (EWPZ) has said.
EWPZ President Musa Kafimbwa said some “crooked people” came into Zambia very small, but today had become very big because of the money from the emeralds industry.
In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, Mr Kafimbwa said some crooked individuals calling themselves investors were making a lot of money for themselves, while those foreigners whom they were bringing to work in their companies were getting 10 times more than the Zambians.
Mr Kafimbwa said the “new dawn” government must ensure that there was sanity in the emeralds industry so that Zambians can start benefitting from the emeralds as opposed to picking crumbs falling from the table.
“The issue of management of our natural resources, most especially the emeralds is that criminals hiding in the name of investors have invaded the emeralds sector. We have crooks in the mining sector and they are bringing West Africans to do jobs which can be done by Zambians.
“The truth is that the emeralds sector is viable and profitable hence the need for Government to bring order and sanity in the industry so that Zambians can benefit from the sector,” Mr Kafimbwa said.
Mr Kafimbwa appealed to Government to carry out an audit in the emerald mines to help deal with the challenges and problems where most of the foreigners were doing jobs that can be done by the local people.
Mr Kafimbwa said most of the emeralds mines have engaged foreigners to do jobs that can be done by local people which should not be the case.
“The country has skilled people that can take up most of the jobs being done by foreigners, especially from West Africa. There was need for jobs that can be done by local people to be reserved for them.
“The Minister of Mines should embark on a fact-finding mission in the emeralds sector so that government can find a way of bringing sanity which include helping local people to benefit from the country’s minerals,” he said
“There is need for an audit to be carried by the government. This audit will enable it to scrutinise works being done by foreigners which can be done by local people,” Mr Kafimbwa said.
