By GIDEON NYENDWA
GOVERNMENT should ignore the manoeuvres by Vedanta to come back because they have proven that they do not mean well for this county, a mining expert, Edward Simukonda has advised.
Mr. Simukonda said Vedanta had already proved to Zambians that they were wolves in sheep’s clothing in the way they handled KCM when they were in charge.
He said the government should not tolerate Vedanta’s manoeuvres to come back because it had no respect for the people of Zambia.
“We already know who they are, so why should we pay attention to them,” he said.
Mr. Simukonda said he was concerned as to why Vedanta had insisted on wanting to come back as though they were the only investors in the world.
Vedanta reported that they had indicated support to the Zambian government in its green energy transition goals.
The company said in a statement that it is encouraged by the steps already taken by the government, including appointment of the Green Economy and Environment Minister and is aligned to further initiatives that have been presented.
Mr. Simukonda also said there were a lot of investors that could be considered to run KCM if need arises but not a company that had already been tried and failed.
He said the pledges that Vedanta was making to support the Zambian government in its green energy transition goals was a scheme to try to entice the leaders to consider bringing them back.
Mr. Simukonda said companies like Vedanta like taking advantage of Zambia by capitalising on the vulnerability in terms of finances.
He said it was good that Zambia had already seen the inside of who they really were and to allow them back could be a very big mistake.
