By OLIVER SAMBOKO
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema should act by withdrawing the mining license from Arc Minerals for engaging in shoddy dealings at the London stock Market, a local NGO has demanded.Copperbelt Advocates for Justice and Peace (CAJP) executive director Abraham Phiri has said continued participation of Ark Mineral in the mining sector is costing the country of the much needed investment in the sector.He said the New Dawn government should act swiftly to cancel Kalaba mine license which was granted to London-listed Arc Minerals, based in the British Virgin Islands.Mr Phiri said mining licences should be given in a clear and transparent way as the manner in which Arc Minerals got its mining licence is very questionable.Arc Minerals, holds majority shareholding in Zamsort that owns Kalaba Mine, and has been using its presence on the London Stock Exchange to raise money for projects that are not running as its operational area in Mwinilunga has been abandoned.So far, nothing is going on at Kalaba Mine and exploration works on other sites are neither being done. However, Arc Minerals keeps using its presence on the London Stock Exchange to raise money which ends up being shared by directors. Among the known questionable activities engaged in by Arc Minerals is the transfer of rights from one company owned by the same directors to another of their own without the consent of the Ministry of Mines.Mr Phiri said it is unfortunate that a London-listed company can be short changing the local people.“This is not the first time, we have heard of this story. I think the government is acting at a slow pace. But now we want the new dawn Government to act. In the past, concerns were raised but no action and the local people continued to be deprived of these natural resources. We want the Government through the Minister of Mines to act now,” Phiri said.Recently, another local organization, the Evangelical Youth Alliance (EYA) petitioned the British government through its High Commission in Lusaka about the business dealings that Arc Minerals is engaging in. The company is further accused of dragging on settling a dispute with one of the company’s shareholders Zamex, Mumena Mushinge and others who are owed over US$5.8 million for the shares sold.
