By Nation Reporter
IT IS unacceptable for the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development to sit by and watch illegalities in the sector when majority of Zambians are poor and hungry, UPND Kalabo Central MP Chinga Miyutu has charged.
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Mr Miyutu said people are complaining of high levels of poverty yet there were illegalities in the sector which, if corrected, could lift people out of hunger.
The law maker said this yesterday when Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development acting permanent secretary Gerald Mwila appeared before the expanded planning and budgeting committee to interrogate the 2024 national budget.
“People are talking of poverty…high, deep levels of poverty. Surely, can’t this thing make you move? There is no any other organ in this country that looks at mineral exploration. It is your ministry, but you are just there. What are you waiting for? You want this poverty to kill all the Zambians? What are you going to achieve? The illegality should not continue,” Mr Miyutu said.
He said there was no way the Ministry of Mines could allow an illegality within KCM where Senseli was illegally carrying out mining activities.
“People are talking of poverty in this country, which has increased. Poverty arising from the shortfall of money. People are saying there is no money in circulation,” Mr Miyutu said. He said there were four pillars to grow the economy and amongst those was the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development. Mr Miyutu said from creation of Zambia, the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development was the corner stone and the pillar of the survival of the country.
“You discover there is illegality at KCM, you are folding your hands. You have heard that there is suggilite, gold all over this country even in Mumbwa, but you are folding your hands,” Mr Miyutu said.
In response Mr Mwila, whose substantive position is that of director geological survey, said the law gave the responsibility to the license holder (KCM) to engage the Zambia Police.
Mr Mwila said from Ministry’s side, there were necessary steps to charge the illegality.
“So, we don’t just sit back but in terms of protecting the resource, the license holder is responsible. We have gone further to enforce the law. If we find an illegal mine, they shall forfeit the resource together with the vessel, which was not catered for in the current law,” Mr Mwila said.
And Mr Mwila said the Ministry of Mines would soon start buying gold from illegal miners.
“So, for gold, we have made great strides and we are currently procuring prefabricated market centres which are going to be piloted in Mumbwa and Rufunsa with the view to capturing all the gold produced both by legal and illegal miners.”
“We have taken the approach of no questions asked because the bigger picture is for government to capture all the gold produced by every individual. Going forward, we will formalize people that fall in the informal sector,” Mr Mwila said.
He said last year, a Cabinet memo was submitted to Cabinet that detailed the gold marketing model.
Mr Mwila said the model did not limit itself to gold but also looks into other mineral commodities where there is an aggregator and then markets are created downstream.
“It is an on-going process …but when it comes to capturing gold, we are not segregating. We intend to capture gold from everyone,” he said.
Mr Mwila was responding to a question from Lunte PF MP Mutotwe Kafwaya who wanted to know the ministry’s plan on market development.
“These are small scale miners who may not access the global market. What do you think should be done to complete the value process so that they don’t just mine, but they are able to access market?” Mr Kafwaya asked.
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