By ROGERS KALERO
THE Mining sector should be managed, motivated and guided towards achieving economic recovery and national development which would ultimately result into national prosperity where Zambians would be able to benefit through employment and business opportunities,’’ Private Sector Development Association of Zambia (PSDAZ) programmes director Esther Banda has said
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Dr Banda said mining has been at the core of Zambia’s economic development for the last 100 years, and should be managed, motivated and guided towards national prosperity Dr Banda was speaking at the weekend at Garden Court Hotel when she made a presentation during a Fire and Safety Innovation workshop for the future organised by Firecom Limited
“Innovations and re-engineering in the mining sector, has seen mining investors create a mining value chain, that has led to outsourcing or sub-contracting many activities and processing in this sector, which has led to secondary and tertiary business and employment opportunities, within the communities in which mining operations take place,” Dr Banda said.
Dr Banda commended Firecom for hosting the event which she was sure that, at the end of the session, knowledge, data and ideas will have been shared
“I would like to thank Firecom for inviting us, PSDAZ to attend this event which highlight the importance of the private sector in developing our country,’’ she said
She said, in the recent past, there had been initiatives from the government to resuscitate some dormant mining operations at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Chingola and Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) in Kitwe
She said the two investors who have been short-listed to take up the running of the two giant mines have pledged to re-capitalise the mines and relaunch mining operations in 2024 and beyond, thus providing the impetus to achieve the targeted 3 million metric tonnes of Copper within the next few years
“These developments will ensure more employment, and more sub-contracting within the mining industry across the Copperbelt, the Luapula province, and the North-western province, over the next five years
“As our economy becomes more robust, we expect to see new refining and value addition industries being launched , such that the economy can diversify from basic mining exports of minerals , to exports of value added products,thereby generating more profits for the investors, and more tax revenues for the nation,’ she said
And Firecom Limited Chief Executive Officer Bruce Mulonda has said his company’s mandate was to bring a State of the Art of latest equipment in the world to help improve productivity
“The mining sector had seen significant growth in the past years, but safety was till a challenge which needed to be effectively addressed for miners to work in safe environment. This is why Firecom remains dedicated to provide a robust fire safety solutions to the mining sector in Zambia,’’ Mr Mulonda said
Meanwhile, Chamber of Mines Research and Policy Manager Yewa Kumwenda said the mining Industry needs to continue taking a proactive approach in emphasizing the vital role that mine safety plays across all their operations.
“While applications for underground safety privileges draw a high degree of attention from the regulators, mine owners have a moral responsibility to ensure that they equip their operations with state-of-the-art front line response applications to save lives and assets even when we least expect to have safety challenges and threats,” Mr Kumwenda said.
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