Opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president Edith Nawakwi has said government should close all the mines as they do not benefit Zambians.She was speaking in response to Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda who revealed in parliament today that the cost of constructing roads in Zambia is one of the highest in the world.
Mrs Nawakwi said apart from damaging the roads the mines are also consuming electricity at the expense of the local people who she said are not benefiting anything from the mines.
“We should close all mines and export electricity so that we use that money to do roads and develop the country,” she said.
She charged that the country does not need the Solwezi Chingola road because it only benefits the mines which don’t pay enough tax to the government.
“How can the Government take money to tar the Solwezi- Chingola road to only benefit the mines instead of giving that money to youths in Cairo road so that they can stop trading on the streets,” she said.
Meanwhile Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda said the Government is trying to ensure that they reduce the cost for road construction to acceptable and manageable levels.
Mr Chikwanda was speaking during a debate on the adoption of the Estimates on the budget for 2014.
“Mr Speaker the cost of doing roads is one of the highest if not the highest in the world but we are working to reduce the cost to do roads in the country,” he said.
The Finance minister added that no country can develop without proper roads hence the PF governments desire to improve the road network in the country.
I totally agree with that notion of closing the mines. However Zambians are too weak,too scared,too poor to pull that one off. If we close the mines we will be forced to grow our agriculture sector which will greatly benefit us,won’t leave holes in the ground.We will be forced to manufacture our own stuff. The donors ofcourse won’t be happy because they like to keep Africa poor and dependent on them.So I won’t hold my breathe for that to happen.However,you can see the paucity of brain capacity of PF in Chikwandas statement. If building roads is so expensive why continue pursuing it? Build railway lines instead!! Build high speed trains. We are the dumping ground for Japanese second hand cars ,so I don’t see how roads are benefiting us either!Build world class public transportation.
Hahaha ati the Lusaka- kafue road recostruction costed twice the cost of the I-635 in Dallas. Haha Zambia we thieves for sure …lol
Closing them is not the way to go but nationalise them. It is better for the govt to tar rural roads that inter mine roads. We are not benefiting anything from these mines. Consuming more power, damaging roads, polluting our environment, open pits all over C/B. Atase
This is one of the few senseble statements I have heard from a politician all year.
Chikwanda is lying as usual. He said last year that the construction contracts are too expensive because of corruption. This has nothing to do with the high cost of construction per se but PF corruption. Look at the $25m stolen from the KKIA project and 4 years later there’s still not even a single brick in place.
The problem with commenting on anything and sometimes you comment anyhow sata had his own way of criticising government through political jokes which was making sense at times so let’s talk like people who wants to govern not comedians satas comedy can make u look mad if you follow him the bembas say mukonka isilu alaluba ishilu ya Londoka (he who follows a mad man get lost will a mad man finds the way )(in state house)
Sata WAS himself a political JOKE!
But who is laughing NOW?
Surely,
An economist can calculate the benefits of exporting power vs revenue from the mines.
I concur with Mama Nawakwi, if the country does not benefit from the mines…CLOSE THEM.
At a later date, we will attract investors who will pay the country equitably
Can Chikwanda explain what happened to Sata’s mad hatter scheme of paving Zambian roads like the Romans did thousands of years ago? Chikwanda went overboard about this crazy scheme in his 2011 speech and up to now I have not seen a single Road under this ripoff scheme.
I can now see that this lady is running berserk. Does she know in monetary value what as little as 1% of FQML represents? The cost of tarring the Solwezi road is a drop in the ocean when compared to the taxes paid by the mine in North Western Province.
Further more the mine owner will not take this road to Australia – it remains in Zambia as a Zambian road.
Secondly, the road does not benefit the Mines alone but the many Zambians residing in Northwestern Province.
Does she know how many Zambians have lost their lives on this same road due to its poor state?
She should limit herself to running her piggery and supermarket instead of vying for the big office of the President. She is really a let down to the woman folk in power in our Nation.
meant to say “1% tax paid by FQML represent”
That road will not last a year I can guarantee you. The rate at which those trucks move on that road 24 7, every minute. Better to do a rail line than a road at such high cost when it won’t last
We do agree that Zambians wish to see benefits from the Mines. There is very little or nothing the population is getting from this industry. However, Nawakwi is part of the group that presided over the sale of our mines and dubious privatization of even profit making parastatals like Chilanga Cement,Zambia Sugar. Some of the companies were being sold just after the state had invested money to modernise them;Zambia Breweries, Dairy Produce Board,Cold Storage,Zamhort.While Nawakwi offers practical solutions most of the time,she is off target on this one as her history betrays her. Ba Chikwanda should admit that part of the reasons for high costs of constructing roads in Zambia is the high level of corruption in the tender process! Let them cleanse themselves if they can, to reduce costs!
privatization was not brought by nawakwi, the IMF/World Bank are to blame for our economy because of the pressure they had put on us the country failed into selling those companies and next will be zesco
Yabaaa! Abanabo bamoyo bushe batuntulu? The problem is that she is just quaking anyhow even on things that she is not competent on! Much as we appreciate the aspect of checks and balances in good governance, sometimes we should also check and balance ourselves before spewing any rubbish we think of! Sober up mayo and be useful to yourself and the nation as a all!
Sensible from Nawakwi, though P.F, Crooks are Not telling us the whole truth.
They have received backhanders, so the mines tell us they are running at a loss.
Why would these Mining Crooks, come all the way from India, China, Europe, to make a loss in remote Solwezi, a place they see as a dangerous, diseased Dark Continent??
Our leaders are the new Slave traders. One cannot trade in Human Cargo – Slaves, in this day and age, so, they get their Gin, Mirrors, & Guns, which is now an Offshore account, & they sell your mineral riches for a song, minerals being the modern day Cargo.
We in Africa are doomed, as whoever comes in, will have a bunch of unethical parasites like Katele Kalumba, who had U.P.N.D won, would have brought his Corrupt ways with him.
The other point to consider here is, why are Zambian Roads the most costly to construct on the Planet??
It’s not like Zambia alone is on the Planet Mars, making it hard to construct ” The Zambian Road.
By admitting this Chikwanda is indeed confirming, Zambian’s are the thickest living beings on the Planet!!
Crumbs, I read some rubbish, and then I really read some rubbish!
Right now am trying to work out which hole Nawakwi is talking out of.
Mama Nawakwi you need to start thinking instead of just going ahead with stup!d political remarks.
The debate is not far fetched at all. It is like owning a cow but can never getting enough milk to feed your family everytime it is milked.
For me, there is only options when it comes to our mines: negotiate a fair share (not less han 51%!) or leave the copper untapped in the ground until such a time that we develop our own capital, machinery or knowhow to exploit and market the resources ourselves.
Politicians have contracts with the mines. Chikwanda is a case in point. Until the politics are fixed, Zambians will live in perpetual poverty. Blaming investors is trying to apply the wrong solution. Even Zambian business men will exploit workers and evade paying taxes.
Ha,
Mrs Haambulo is lost. She need counseling. You can’t kill the copperbelt because of Cairo Road street kids.
This thinking is shallow. I think the idea on mines not benefiting Zambians has got to be put into context.
How many direct and indirect jobs have been created by the mines.
What about the tax paid.
What about he Zesco bill?
What about the FOREX earnings.
I don’t know what has happened in the pas two weeks with her because her statements have been off tangent.
Tutu, you are talking like some who works for the mines and take home K50,000.00 every month. Nawakwi is looking at what these mines are supposed to pay as taxes, how these mines are damaging our roads, the amount of energy which is supposed to to be used by Zambian citizens but go to the mines. That makes the difference between you and herself.
Iwe cimayo bushe naubindula eco uleboselabosela fye ayi.Everything that this woman utters does not make any sense at all because even the economic manager HH has never criticized the construction of the solwezi chingola road or advocated for the closing of mines. Are you normal you woman. Go to chainama and be examined before you start stripping naked on chilimbulu road.
Ba Nawakwi I respect you but you’ve missed this one by a mile. Don’t you know that Lungu and Chikwanda can’t even pay civil servants salaries without taxes from the mines?
Nawakwi has a point but she is taking it too far in her comparisons. The problem with our leaders is including the political element even in worthwhile issues thereby losing relevance. Its however a wake up call to the govt.
What exactly is this woman trying to tell us here? Is it fire all the Zambian working for these mines and close them? What would be the complications? Is she surely a UNZA economist or from Mtendere? I am worried with her utterances nowadays. Is it to gain political milage. Madam Nawakwi, the corporate taxi paid by these mines, the pay as you earn paid by employees, the employment of our brothers and sisters by these mines and the social responsibility provided by these mines, to you they mean nothing. Do you really think when commenting or you just want people to know that you are in Zambia. Those comment are misplaced my sister. Be useful to yourself and to the nation too.
I am always always surprised why Zambia chose to bring back a finance minister from the archives 70’s to come back today. we had no internet then, no mobile phones, no whats app, no face book and many such things. I remember my father sending me to go and send a telegram at the post office to relay a message to the people in the village. When i was at college our calls where planned i will call you at 19hrs be at a pay phone Zambia chooses to bring a person from that error to control the countries resources result what we are experiencing. Please bring new minds i am aware Edgar may belong to the old school. Shift the button it may work.
Too many middle men in the corruption chain. The content passes through 3 middle men who don’t even own a shavel. This is Pfs money in your pockets.
its not only the roads which are expensive to construct in Zambia i was surprised when i looked at a clinic which worth 300, 000, 000 old currency by then. its the individuals handling those contract who are making those structure more expensive.
This Nawakwi is a very bitter, frustrated and angry woman. There is no logic in her statements these days. Time to quit politics forever will never be better than now.
I would find it extremely difficult to vote for Edith Nawakwi for the Zambian presidency. I have nothing against voting for a woman as a president but I just can’t stand Nawakwi’s shallow and myopic thinking. This is definitely not presidential material, she just talks carelessly filya fine bana mayo babwata bwata nga bali pa maliketi.
I often wonder: How is it that neighboring countries are managing their affairs on MUNICIPAL-based budgets – yes, this includes doing ROADS – and yet in Zambia it is some euphemistic RDA that spends BILLIONS to MAINTAIN (yeah – I said it: most of those projects are just maintenance of old, colonial grade roads). How is it that instead of municipalities tabling budgets to do up their constituencies they have to run to AUTHORITIES and GRANTS and EUROBONDS!? Why??
Problem is she wants to sound louder than everyone…hence her f00lishness lately. So, we simply close the mines, fire everyone, throw their families into further poverty and pretend as if it’s normal. And the miners will go away quietly without putting the country on fire…and people say this chi woman is an economist….who can vote for this…….
This revelation about the high cost of constructing roads, by the Minister, reveals something. We do not care about prudent use of our resources. We have such a short memory, forgetting what we went through, due to being highly indebted.
Nawakwe is right, with all that copper yet you are still sinking us deeper into dept.
How can Chikwanda tell us today Zambian roads are the most expensive, isn’t he the one who was planning them?
Nawakwi is not being sincere, sometimes we should demand these chaps to be honest. Can she give us the figures please, mines are paying taxes and employing many people . The fact that Zambians want the mines to be heavily taxed is another story altogether and it must be dealt properly. The truth is there is a benefit but let us just say it is not enough. We should be worry of people like Nawakwi, too much lip service.
I work for the mines and my paye to ZRA per months is zmk 9013. I don’t see how the country will get think revenue if we close the mines. Anyway good luck madame
Did she also look at the implications? Many contributors of NAPSA work for the mines and in turn NAPSA employs many ZAMBIANs . Besides she was party to the sale of the mines where they even offered tax holidays to the new owners. What was happening is that once the tax free period was over the company would change owners and start a new tax holiday.
1) Take 20% of turnover from the mines at a tax.
2) Put the money in a sovereign wealth fund, transparantly administered with full participation of the public and the community.
3) Pay out the money to the local population, beginning with the population in the mining area.
Alaska has a similar initiative, called the Alaska Permanent Fund. (Google: alaska permanent fund wiki)
4) Use some of the money to create or HIRE a mining company, of which all the profits go into the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Much as i have been agreeing with ba Nawakwi on so many irregularties on the of govt”s policy issues.Closing the mines is too much a proposal.first of all you have to look at the number of us who depend on the same mines for our salaries and the amount we contribute as paye.for example i get over K15,000 and my paye is close to 4 pin.So what happens when you close the mines???
Mama Nawakwi talks sense, come 2o16,we be will with you.All what say mama,i pick some sense in them.
The problem with you Zambians is uyou let politicians speak such nonsense and get away with it. What politician in her right mind would say close the mines? Zambia’s survival has been NOTHING ELSE but the mines. I s she saying this just to attract attention? She was in the ruling government which privatised the mines why didn’t she advise them to close the mines. She had no time to advise government because she spent all her time stealing from the taxpayers’s coffers. Nawakwi had three houses in one year of MMD’s rule. Where did she get that money? Her salary as minister would not have been enough to allow her to buy even a car.