RESEARCHERS ADVISED AGAINST FIGHTING MINING FIRMS’ BATTLES
RESEARCHERS must never be used by mining companies in their quest to paint a bad picture of Zambia’s tax regime as being the worst in the world when it is not even giving us any value for our natural resources, Wright Musoma has warned.
Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr. Kamba said it was clear that some mining companies had resolved to using influential individuals in Zambia to conduct research which favoured them in their push to continue reaping fortunes from the country’s resources while peanuts to government.
Reacting to the recent report by two Zambians economist, claiming that Zambian mining companies were taxed more than other companies in the world, Mr. Musoma cautioned researchers against being used by selfish mines.
He said there was need for Zambians to be careful with matters relating to mining operations because the companies have for a long time cheated the nation out of resources.
He said it was mind-boggling that when mining companies operating in Zambia were on a tax holiday, no one talked about how the country was losing out money yet the same individuals who were mute at that time were now being used as tools to discredit the country’s tax regime.
He said former Finance Minister, Katele Kalumba, was right when he requested the researchers not to just look at data extracted from other mines, but also the policy context under which the mines secured a very long tax holiday.
“It is clear that some mining companies have resolved to use Zambians to fight Zambia’s tax regime because they know that if they fight using citizens, it would be easy to change perception but this must never be condoned,” Mr Musoma said.
“Our appeal to these researchers who are carrying out such undertakings is that they must look at the issue of tax, epically mining taxation from a broader perspective and balancing the history of the mines and our policy orientation,” he said.
He said for a long time now, Zambians had been robbed of their rightful entitlement through arm-twisting antics which sometimes forced Government into coming up with policies which have only benefited the mining firms.