TACKLE CORRUPTION IN MINES, AMSC TOLD
MINING companies should engage the Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractors (AMSC) to immediately address the reported corruption in the mines, Party for National Unity (PNU) president Highvie Hamududu has said.
Mr Hamududu also urged Government to make into law the 20 percent subcontracting policy to local contractors, adding that the law should also capture local mining suppliers.
Mr Hamududu, an economist, said the reported corruption in the mines was a complicated matter because in business, the tendency for procurement officers to request for a percentage in awarding contracts could also be interpreted as a commission.
He told the Daily Nation in an interview yesterday that mining companies needed to engage AMSC to ensure that a consensus on the alleged corruption was addressed. “This is a very difficult matter to talk about because in some way what these officers are soliciting for could be a commission so the two parties must meet and sort out the matter,” Mr Hamududu said.
He also said that a law should be enacted to advantage local suppliers as most Zambian suppliers were not benefitting from the mines.
He also advised politicians to avoid commenting on matters they did not understand and let professionals provide counsel to avoid politicising everything.
Mr Hamududu urged the Ministry of Mines to also take keen interest in the matter and praised the Minister, Richard Musukwa, saying: “Mr Musukwa is very capable of managing issues to do with the mines, he is a former unionist himself and even when I was in parliament with him he was hardworking and committed.”