TRADE, Commerce and Industry Deputy Minister Miles Sampa has given a 30-day ultimatum to mining companies on the Copperbelt to start directing a good volume of business to local suppliers and contractors.
Mr Sampa gave the ultimatum during a meeting with members of the Mine Suppliers and Contractors Association of Zambia (MSCAZ) and Kitwe District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KDCCI) in Kitwe yesterday.
Mr Sampa said it was Government’s desire to see local suppliers and contractors begin to benefits significantly from the country’s mining industry by way of them accessing business.
He said it was his considered view to push for legislation that would compel mining companies to sub-contract local suppliers and contractors should mining companies fail to oblige to Government’s demand of them.
“I am appealing to mining companies in the country and in particular Copperbelt to start giving contracts to locals for supply of goods and services. You have 30 days to see to it that this request is implemented and if not, I will be in the fore-front to legislate a law that will compel them to do so,” he said.
Mr Sampa said while Government was calling for increased investment, its interest was to have only credible investors capable of creating jobs for locals come into the country.
“My job is to enrich Zambians through trade and so my desire is to see mining companies start giving business to local suppliers and contractors because we need to have a win-win situation where investors benefit and we as Zambians also benefit,” Mr Sampa said.
The deputy minister warned suppliers and contractors to be wary of some of the strategies by mining companies aimed at weakening the local supply chain.
“You should harmonize yourselves and absorb all other smaller associations into one recognized association. Be careful also of impostors who pass as spokespersons for your associations but are there to create confusion,” he said.
Why do the people in the photo look so angry?
Zedians generally look angry. Even the weather reporter on ZNBC speaks as if we are being scolded…
Not just Zambians, all Africans, when you meet them on the street they appear to be very angry, a friend of mine asked me one time the same question and i quote, ” why do Africans seem angry all the time?” at the time i thought that was a bias question, but i came to believe it, especially west Africans, later on i blamed it on the freezing weather because even Whites have the same look this time around, but for Africans it extends to Summer especially women, geez they can glare at you even if they have no clue who you are, cheer up people life is too short!
Damn i miss Summer already it’s freaking pouring Cats and dogs for weeks, i miss Zambia!
They are body guards for Miles
maybe they were hungry
$20,000 certificate has spoken!
they want jobss
Zambians don’t know how to smile…..majority of the pictures I see depict people who look sad!
These are the PF thugs from Matero who want easy money and other citizen’s titled land!
I dare them to come to my farm and I will rain fire on them since the police have failed to protect us! Come 2016, we are changing Government! We voted MMD out because of violence! One thing I like about Zambians is that they act decisively when their minds are made up and you can’t buy them using fake developmental projects!
“My job is to enrich Zambians through trade” my FOOT. Your Job is to speak, and continue lying.
Indeed you are an old rug. His portfolio is commerce Minister you dunder head
My name is “OLD RUGS OUT”, that includes you Chabwera. All Old rugs will go into permanent oblivion this time for Good.
I like the patience and trust by the Kopala people. No more BUFI, Ni DONCHI Kubeba pa Kopala. Continue lying to yourself Miles, the tied has turned and for the better. Lekeni tuteke.
iwe @old rugs…..
just give credit were its due.
this is a good move.
Nicely spoken Miles!!!
he is giving ultimatums as if he is still in opposition and does not have the reigns of power. He is a minister!!
Miles thats the way to GO! Infact even outside Mining industry the uttimatum needs to extended; the chinese, indians etc
What I am failing to understand is the way the PF ministers are taking the responsibilities. Yesterday I heard Mr. GBM shouting at the Chipata DC over the market instead of the minister of local government, today is Miles (Kilometers) Sampa over the mine workers instead of the Minister of mines and the labor minister.
All I hear shouting and getting on Board are GBM Mwamba, Kambwili, and Shamenda. What about others, have you ever heard the minister of healthy talking about the insufficient medicines and poor services by the healthy worker? Only when they are pushed to say something. Roads it is GBM or Kambwili, Healthy its Kambwili or GBM, Mining it is Shamenda or GBM. Today Kabimba has been silenced and he shall not talk much.
The Hon. Sampa should cure the mischief of cartels between certain local suppliers and buyers employed by the mines. He should also tell the nation why local suppliers, who do not manufacture any products but are mere middlemen, who apply huge profit mark-ups to supplied goods and hence increase the cost of doing business for mines, should be preferred to foreign suppliers who are the original manufacturers selling at reduced prices. The Hon. Deputy Minister must learn to make statements which are the outcome of a well-researched position rather than knee-jerk reactions intended to appease suppliers and contractors who are sympathisers of his party.
Good observation. The so called local suppliers are just middlemen. As for services, this is different as the suppliers of the services will be carried out by locals.
So you have never heard of protecting the local people? If Sampa does not protect Zambians, who will? Can you, for instance supply anything to India, China or the US without government approval from those respective countries?
I’m glad you understand business, we need people like you in govt. Bwana minister should have researched his position before trying to appease middlemen. Govt. regulation in most business sectors leads to reduced productivity.
This is well spoken!!! However we need action, action, action!!! Tell the ministers of labour and mines as well to act. We do not need foreign mining engineers, safety officers, environmental officers etc in Zambia at this point in time. How are these getting work permits?Zambia has plenty engineers i all that the former ZCCM trained. the UNZA and CBU have worked flat out to train Zambians to take over.We want them to be managers. Tell them to copy from Zimbabwe, Tanzania just across our boarders.
Ministers of Mines and Labour are you not ashamed that you have no policy regarding Zambianisation!!!!!!
Yes Zambia has engineers,Hse Practitioners,medical doctors and other trades on paper only ,but when it comes to work We Zambians want the degrees,diplomas and certificates to do the job or work not an individual.Our mindset as Zambians towards work leaves much to be desired.Local Zambian labour is not supposed to modern technology in industry and you want them to superintend over an experienced foreigner who is doing the job.Do not mistake me of being or having inferiority complex but just stating the facts.Local Zambian labour also has a tendency of asking for too much permissions to attend the neighbours’,
uncles, aunties,cousins’ small daddies and mothers’ funerals. We need to change our attitude be serious and honest with our selves in order to excel.
kabimba you are so quite what’s the problem? you are dancing don’t kubeba
These are hollow utterances….doesn’t he know that local suppliers are too expensive and merely middlemen, he is just adding to the high cost of production we have in Zambia. Why not focus on reducing this cost of production instead of issuing ultimatums?
Please Miles, start by amending the mining policy, if there is one. What law are you going to use to compel mining companies to procure from local/zambian suppliers? The term “Local suppliers” is very vague and should be specific to indegenous Zambian suppliers, otherwise the so called foreign suppliers will register their companies in Zambia and become local suppliers!! Let us do some serious work behind closed doors before shouting and performing to the gallery.Why is it that ideas seem to come when you are addressing people? Sit down with all stakeholders and formulate a policy and some sort of a charter that will compel the mines to empower Zambians, not only through procurement but ownership of mines as well. Dont go the Mugabe route please!!
Spot on….sadly Zambians call this hardworking!!
And include they shall bank with local banks and sell forex to local banks.
Hon. Sampa, PLEASE take legal advice before talking crap. YOU CANNOT FORCE NO BODY to buy or sell.
Miles you are on the right track, young men should dream big and be ambitious in their prime, i like it and thats how it should be, when someone opposes to this or see anything wrong with it, i suggest they check in the next door clinic, in healthy civilised worlds this is normal behaviour, so now you see how African Environment has great impact on poverty were people see it wrong to be Ambitious.
Great designers and developers dream huge beyond their capacity and anyones comprehension, this kind of ambition should be incouraged i hope the president can appoint more younsters as Ministers, we will see great development and shift of behavior towards achievement to a greater height! Not these hungry badalas like Mangani.
Thinking BIG or talking crap?
Here goes another benefitting cadre whose belly is too full to reason logically!
Come back home and see how wrong things have become!
It is very easy to think things are well when you are in the diaspora or among those that are beneficiaries to proceeds of crime!
It is an insult to Zambians for PF to unleash criminals on ordinary citizens and to want to give the same criminals free contracts we know they will not honor!
What miles should be telling us is what frameworks he has come up with for this, not ultimatums!
Miles looking nice with the Eurobond money
Miles look at the genesis of the problem you have raised critically not just to politic. Where is the manufacturing industries that will provide the spares required in the mining sectors.Are the local contractors got the necessary and modern equipment required to undertake even the smallest contracts in the mining? This reminds of sometime back when we had hired one mobile crane from one of the local Copperbelt based plant hire company.The mobile plant had a valid lifting test certificate but the machine was defective to the extent the machine boom was slowly lowering itself whilst the crane was still holding or hooked the steel channels on top of the construction structure which the steel erectors were busy erecting.To me the government should put in place deliberate measures to help to t
Ultimatums, ultimatums, ultimatums! Problem-solving the PF way.
Hon Minister, please take an Econ 101 class. Supply and demand sets prices, not government. Direct local suppliers to have quality goods and services at competitive pricing and they will get business.
Please understand how the real world works.
This is africa and zambia in particular ultimatums don,t work you don’t even own one mine as zambian government, MILES even the land you are sitting on belongs to someone else how on earth can you say that ba DEGREE HOLDER. That is the problem when you mix degrees and politics coz when you do? thats when you say such things. And by the way when do they register in the mines as suppliers? U don’t even know. How is the process like? Who is in charge? One thing even those People you are sitted with as local suppliers don’t support one another, no wonder Foreigner have taken advantage of the situation. We know them and don’t trust them once you give them what they want they don’t even want to see you. tukalandako na mailo. kwasila.
Local suppliers are generally a let down!
We know that Miles is not speaking for all Zambians. His empty rhetoric of politics of appeasement for its unruly cadres will take him nowhere.
One would expect that one of our young eminent economists would do better and give some fresh air during this dispensation but alas, it’s not the case.
What PF cadres want are easy things and this is how we are destroying this country. Create a level playing field first and your emphasis should be promoting those enterprises that are showing good promise, not the lazy nincompoops! Even criminals now are parading themselves as PF cadres! What a country!
Yes. Please give the mine suppliers business so they can buy stolen benzes and other fancy cars like they always do. Problem with these clowns is they choose not to diversify and invest whatever they make from the mines in other sustainable businesses. They live for the moment and expect to forever milk the mines. Grow up gentlemen.
It is sad that our own Zambian suppliers are denied chances of doing business. One this we should know is that the businesses we are giving to foreign suppliers are creating employment in foreign lands killing our own industries. and subsquently creating unemployment. our own brothers and sisters are being denied chances to work while most of the private companies are bringing workers from outside. Jobs are there in Zambia just that our Government does not take much effort to protect us. As far as i know private companies just need to have MD and FD as expatriates the rest must be Zambians. but this is not the case in most privete companies.
PF please conduct audits in private companies and ensure jobs that can be done by Zambians be done by Zambians.