By ROGERS KALERO
HE members of the newly-established Mining and Mineral Commission must not be compromised but must ensure that multinational companies and foreign mining investors do not undervalue their production figures and profits to disadvantage Zambians in general and miners in particular,” National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) President Saul Simujika has said
Mr Simujika said the commission must strive to ensure that they supplement existing bodies to compel multinational companies and foreign mining investors to operate within the law and pay their obligations to bring order and sanity in the mining sector
He was commenting on the setting up of the Mines and Minerals Commission which will deal with all the grey areas in the mining sector and also help to grow capacity to the Mines Ministry to monitor the activities where mining was taking place
On Thursday, last week, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe announced the setting up of the commission which will monitor mining activities and ensure that even big mines that were under declaring production figures were dealt with
Mr Simujika said the union welcomed the decision to set up a commission to deal with illegalities and grey areas in the mining sector, but advised those sitting on the commission not to betray Zambians and miners in general by getting compromised and allowing these multinational companies to reap huge millions whilst miners continue to wallow in poverty.
“As a union, we will always take anything with a pinch of salt because we have seen a lot from the past. Yes, we have seen a lot. People have said nice things about commissions, but they fail to yield desirable results because they become compromised,Mr Simujika said.
Mining Commission workers should not be compromised – NUMAW
