Zambia loses US$3bn annually in illicit mineral sales

ZAMBIA is losing over US$2.9 billion every year on illicit financial outflows says Caritas Zambia economic and justice programme officer Edmond Kangamunhazi

Mr Kangamunhazi said Zambia has been losing a lot of money in the mining sector and most of the money was from the copper industry. He said most of the money that Zambia lost in the mining sector ended up in Saudi Arabia, Korea, China and Pakistan, adding that over the past 10 years Zambia lost about US$8.8 billion. Speaking at a meeting on the proposed new mining tax regime and illicit financial flows in Kitwe yesterday, Mr Kangamunhazi said there were about 2,115 registered mines in Zambia but only 252 were paying mineral royalties. He explained that the numbers showed how much was being lost and that majority of the licenced mines were mining for free, adding that the mines were robbing Zambia of its natural resources. Mr Kangamunhazi said it was sad that a country that was blessed with natural resources could have be in the same category with Haiti and Central African Republic with highest number of malnourished people. And Publish What You Pay Zambia Copperbelt chair Gerald Mutelo said Zambia was a rich country with vast natural resources which did not make sense for the country to be in debts. Mr Mutelo also urged journalists to highlight stories on illicit finances so that the community could be made aware on how much the country lost as well as benefits from the minerals. He said if civil societies

it was sad that a country that was blessed with natural resources could have be in the same category with Haiti and Central African Republic with highest number of malnourished people. — Mr Kangamunhazi.

worked together in demanding that the right things should be done Zambia could benefit substantially from its resources.