GOVT GETS MINES CHALLENGE
By BUUMBA CHIMBULU THE mining industry has challenged Government to create an optimal business environment which will enable the manufacturing sector produce materials needed for the mining houses to avoid importing the products.
Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) president, Nathan Chishimba, explained that the manufacturing industry was currently unable to produce equipment needed for the mining houses.
This is in response to remarks by Minister of Mines, Richard Musukwa, who has threatened to take a Statutory Instrument (SI) to Parliament for approval which compels mining houses to give 30 percent of their business to local suppliers if they continue to import materials which are locally available.
Mr. Chishimba emphasised that unlike legislating the industry, Government should instead create an optimal business environment to ensure local manufacturers had the capacity to produce equipment and materials needed for the mining industry.
“If Government creates this environment for the manufacturing sector for instance, it will be able to produce those things in Zambia and mines will be sourcing them locally,
“For instance those big trucks we use 250 tones trucks, if there is somebody in Zambia making them, we will definitely buy from there but that is technically not feasible at the moment,” he said.
Mr. Chishimba said in an interview that legislations that threatened the mining industry had led to the sector reducing its production capacity.
He explained that Zambia was only producing 4 percent of the world’s copper which was little.
“So even if you pass an SI then you are creating a problem. Every year we have frightening measures and as a result, we are falling behind countries such as DR Congo and now Zambia only produces 4 percent of the worlds’ copper so that is not much to start making measures about,
“We can do better if we work together. We are not opposed to Government, we are just trying to survive as an industry. Mines are in business, they make choice son what is visibly available locally so you cannot compel people to source materials which are not available,” he said.