…as government finally hands over the giant copper mine back to Vedanta after its acrimonious exit almost half a decade ago
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
AFTER lengthy and protracted back and forth negotiations which left many stakeholders anxious about the new investor for Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) and Mopani Copper Mine (MCM), Government has finally let the cat out by announcing it was giving the mine to Vedanta Resources.
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There was no search for the new investor as Vedanta had maintained its legal right to the Mine, the government said yesterday.
The KCM board will be reinstated and Vedanta resources will return to its previous role as a majority shareholder of the giant copper mine based on mutually agreed conditions.Mr Kabuswe explained that the government had taken longer than expected to announce the new investors as the state took over KCM when it was at the verge of collapsing.
“We have finalised the negotiations with Vedanta Resources who will return as a shareholder alongside ZCCM-IH. It has taken longer than anticipated to resolve the impasses because Government took over KCM when it was at the verge of collapsing,” Mr Kabuswe said. According to Mr Kabuswe, among the key discussions with Vedanta was the well-being of Zambians.
He explained that the government had to ensure that it was a win-win situation for both investors and the treasury. “We want a long-lasting solution and that is why we took this long,” Mr Kabuswe said. Speaking earlier, Pushpender Singla, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of Vedanta Zinc International South Africa, announced several commitments following the deal. Among the commitments made were US$1 billion investment in KCM development, US$250 million payment to all local creditors and US$20 million investment into the local community (CSR) every year through a special purpose vehicle a Community Trust. Other commitments were 20 percent increase in salaries for employees and one-off K2, 500 payment to all employees.
“The negotiations with all the stakeholders in the dispute may have taken a little longer than initially anticipated, this was necessary for the benefit of all parties and the entire country as we needed to take care of all salient points in this agreement.” “The parties are working towards concluding revisions to the shareholders’ agreement and its Implementation.
We are ready to contribute to the Zambian government’s projection to attain the three million annual copper production in the next 10 years as it is imperative for us to tap into such an ambitious output level,” Mr Singla said.
Meanwhile, Copperbelt Minister Elisha Matambo said he was confident that the agreement would be beneficial to Zambians and that it would stand a test of time.
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