…demand that Paul Kabuswe, the Minister of Mines should give a time frame when the Vedanta, KCM transaction would be concluded after the lapse of the three moths deadline
By ROGERS KALERO
By NATION REPORTER
A CONSORTIUM of Civil Society Organisations championing the revamping of the mining sector, has petitioned the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Mr Paul Kabuswe, over the delay for Vedanta Resources to fully take over operations of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
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The CSOs are demanding that Mr Kabuswe should immediately update the nation on the exact time frame within which Government would precisely conclude the KCM legal transition process, withdraw the provisional liquidator Celine Nair and allow KCM to begin operating effectively, efficiently and optimally.
Consortium lead Samuel Banda has stated that the CSOs would want Mr Kabuswe to expedite the KCM transition process and finalised it by mid-January 2024.
Mr Banda said the KCM deal had been protracting for too long despite assurances from government that the transition process would only take three months.
“As advocates for a viable mining sector, we want to see serious progress and investment in the mining sector which is our primary economic backbone and cornerstone for economic development and growth as it accounts for around 80 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
“We are however, taken aback considering the fact that the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe last year in September announced that following the signing of an agreement with Vedanta Resources outside court, the investor would have taken over KCM within three months. We are in January now and we do not know what is going on. We understand that provisional liquidator at KCM is still there making it impossible for Vedanta to fully take over the operations of KCM,” Mr Banda said.
He complained that unfortunately, the three months had already elapsed without a clear transition process roadmap, as had been evidenced by lack of withdrawal of the provisional liquidator at KCM.
He said the delay in Vedanta commencing production at KCM was a huge setback to the legal transition process.
“As a consortium, we are therefore appealing to the Minister of Mines Paul Kabuswe to expedite the transition process so that Vedanta Resources can fully take control of KCM,” Mr Banda said.
Mr Banda said the operationalization f KCM would facilitate and pave the way for the implementation of their strategic investment commitments, among them, the injection of over US$1billion for recapitalisation and mining development, improve working conditions.
He said the operations would also see the injection of US$20 million for Corporate Social Responsibility programs that would address critical sectors such as health, agriculture and sports, as well as clear off US$250 million owed to suppliers and contractors.
“We wish to further indicate that President Hakainde Hichilema’s ambitious target of achieving three million metric tonnes of copper production target per annum by 2031 is highly dependent on the successful operations of KCM,” Mr Banda said.
And Zambians for Unity Peace and Development (ZUPED) president, Ronnie Jere, said Government should ensure that the mining sector is revived immediately.
Mr Jere said Mr Kabuswe had promised that the transition process would only take three months but it was now beyond the timeframe yet there was nothing that was happening.
“It is very important that Government gets on board and sort out these issues in the mining industry. For example, we have the brutal depreciation of kwacha, mass unemployment, high cost of living and we also have low business opportunities in the country. If we had sorted out the issues at KCM, it would have helped us as a country to solve some of those challenges,” Mr Jere said.
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