Lungu wins kudos on truant investors
HEADS of state and senior signatories who were attending the summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Rwanda yesterday praised President Edgar Lungu for insisting that investors who are in Africa to reap without paying taxes must not be allowed to stay.
In his address yesterday, President Lungu cited Vedanta Resources as a case in point.
The President said he had to tell the investor to leave Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and that investors using corporate social responsibility (CSR) to hoodwink citizens would not be tolerated.
He said working with the private sector, the civil service and its citizens, the country could not fail.
President Lungu said if everybody was ready to pay tax, all that was needed was agreeing on the threshold.
He said there were already investors showing interest in investing in KCM.
Host President Paul Kagame and Liberia’s Vice-President Jewel Howard Taylor concurred with President Lungu and insisted that investors should never use CSR to hold countries to ransom but operate within the law.
President Lungu said there was nothing wrong with any government borrowing provided the money was put to good use.
The President asked moderator Donald Kaberuka whether there was a country in the world that did not borrow.
“Tell me if there is a country in the world that does not borrow. What matters is how you use the money borrowed. If the money is used for infrastructure development, in agriculture or energy, what is wrong with that?” the President asked.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has warned Zambians against taking the peace the country has enjoyed since independence for granted because doing so would be suicidal. Responding to a question from the audience, President Lungu said Zambians should not take for granted the peace that the country had continued to enjoy, and cited Rwanda as an example of a country that understood what it meant to be without peace.