GOVERNMENT has demanded for the involvement of more locally produced goods as opposed to foreign goods in business engagement between the mines and local suppliers.
Vice-President Guy Scott said Government was concerned that while a lot of suppliers to the mines were locals ones, most of the goods involved in their business with the mines were foreign.
Dr Scott said Government remained committed to ensuring that the local content programme, which sought to promote the interest of local suppliers and contractors succeeded.
“It has turned out that suppliers are Zambians but the actual goods are foreign coming from countries like South Africa.
“We have made ourselves dependent on foreign goods and this way, we are not getting the spin-offs from the mining industry benefiting the locals,” Dr Scott said.
He said this in Kitwe yesterday when he opened a two-day Mining Copperbelt Trade and Expo conference held at Mist Gardens.
Dr Scott said it was a pity that even with Government’s emphasis on local content, most of the goods involved were still foreign.
The vice-president reiterated Government’s commitment to supporting the growth of the mining industry stressing that the nation ought to be top in the region in mining.
[pullquote]“It has turned out that suppliers are Zambians but the actual goods are foreign coming from countries like South Africa. We have made ourselves dependent on foreign goods and this way, we are not getting the spin-offs from the mining industry benefiting the locals,” Dr Scott said.[/pullquote]
Dr Scott, however, pointed out the need for mining firms to operate within the framework of the law in aspects of environmental requirements and payments of statutory obligations.
On the aspect of monitoring mining operations, Dr Scott said Government had the right to know what was taking place in the mines because it had the obligation to protect the interests of employees.
The vice-president expressed happiness with the high level of participation at the trade exhibition programme saying it was a good indication that the Zambian market was attracting great interest from international investors.
And co-organizer for the conference, David Asdown said the idea for staging the trade exhibition was to create a platform for business linkages for players in the mining industry.
He said mining trade and expo conference had attracted over 90 exhibitors which included both local and international.
Dr Scott’s entourage comprised of Mines, Energy and Water Development Minister, Christopher Yaluma, Home Affairs minister, Ngosa Simbyakula and Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge.
So which goods can we source locally? The problem is that Zambian produced goods are very expensive. For example its costs about K20 to produce a broiler chicken while the ones imported the total landing cost is about K12.
I do know these speaches are just written for them to ready. But does Donty Sconty ever take time to ask before reading whether a speach like this makes sense.
The Little manufacturing Industries we had your Boss and yourself managed to cripple them. How do you expect Ndola Lime, Scaw Zambia among the tiny few to progress with such dunderheads leading us?
Concerned…we ought to…it has turned out that actual goods are foreign…
Give us a break, have you just noticed? Give practical solutions.
@Shimapalo, thats is the problem right there. You want to supply Chicken to the mines. I hope you thought of Kampompo (buns).
Problem is we are dependent on foreign products because we have not yet created hose machines and manufacturing assemblies to answer Technologies of mass production. We are trader of almost all manufactured products. Engineering has not yet moved from mostly maintenance to creative/innovation of new products. If this becomes a targeted priority of reinventing engineering in Zambia Guy’s call will answered. We need manufacturing plants and factories of various types to produce the products we importing and selling to the mines. Its a catch 22. We have not done much, most of our energies are spent on political rebattled. More daily politics leaves us with little brains to be creative in othe areas other than politics.
Clive Chirwa once told our engineers last week that they are maintenance engineers and not innovative engineers and that is biggest source of problems.
Let guy scott NAME these locally produced goods.
is it Sunrise Buscuits for the miners? to drink with kawambwa tea?
I cant think of any machinery or mining equipment zed can produce without the initial investment money going missing along the way
Is there a way a country can make money through political clap trap ? If there was we would be the richest central African State… because we really buy it!
While it is a conventional right which I enjoy and it also enables me to comment insofar as to criticize the PF regime, it is a share waste of time to engage those PF kaponyas. The point is the difference in how the PF and the reasonable UPND approach potential solutions to Zambia’s economic problems. The former (PF) has wild expectations in which it expects industry to abruptly jump build expensive industries capable of producing world class mining machineries comparable to what South Africa produces. Whereas, UPND has repeatedly emphasized the need to create a conducive environment in which foreign investors can shift their manufacturing plants to Zambia and, create employment for Zambians. The chosen responses from Sata and his goons are to insult, criminalise and arrest HH, viva…
Compared to his usual lame-duck comments, at least this time Dr Scott is showing some trace of thinking and putting Country first. But the appropriate questions are:- 1.) WHY are there hardly any locally manufactured goods for the Mines? Once you know the ‘why’ then you go to question 2,) WHAT should be done to bring about local manufacturing in Zambia? As a leader, all you’ve got to do to come up with realistic answers is to simply ASK the local suppliers and be a good listener. You will be amazed at the wide range of good credible answers you will get.
guy scot= Muzungu opusa= Galu opanda muchila.
Why is your first response an insult? If you have something you disagree with articulate it and present a smart argument. A good example is @Floyd Chitalu
This rug must first talk about the high cost of production before ranting about supply of locally produced goods. It’s now cheaper to import most commodities than buy locally because of the high rate of inflation, free fall of the Kwacha and total mismanagement of the economy by the old, creepy and hideous Alexander Chikwanda’s ancient economic policies.
This is utter and blind folly for this old man to issue such demands when his gov’t of empty tins is doing everything to frustrate of kill off SMES. …the cost of doing business is too high!!
The problem I have with zambians is that they hate what belongs to them they hate their own people so foriegners take advantage to exploit them poor zambians you need to be jailous about your own people never sale them out
As you are saying now you are giving jobs to people of your neighbour country how can you help your own children brothers and sisters to have jobs when you willingly export jobs to southafrica funny zambians you must start thinking right
That’s why I support the re introduction of indeco so that we can bring local manufacturers back. like it or not its the only way for now.
On Sunday April 27, 2014 I wrote an article entitled Zambian Watchdog – popular yes, but……. sent to the Zambian Watchdog and other online news websites including the Post Newspapers.
None of them published the article but a least I got a response from the Watchdog, a nasty one for that. I didn’t expect anything soothing and neither was I expecting them to publish an article that kind of challenges them.
“Your name is Xavier Chungu so please cut the crap. If you are so sure about what you are talking about, why don’t you go ahead and do your guerilla’, read the response in part. The Watchdog say they are practicing guerilla journalism and I challenged the which journalism or media schools locally or abroad have this in their syllabi. This was their response, “Evelyn Hone and UNZA…
are not the only journalism schools in the world. And even if they were, they would not have monopoly to define what is, what isn’t journalism or what types there should be”.
As people who read what they write, should we then take all what they feed us with as Gospel truth? But I think I shall take them on since I too no a little bit about what they are doing. They should not cry foul and lodge a complaint that I am blocked from posting comments on FB. On this page of theirs they write so many unsubstantiated things about people and they get away with it. I will also do guerilla journalism
What is you point? What is your issue with what they write? If you don’t believe in what they write don’t read it. It’s that simple. If you want to start a parallel site, you are very free to do that
Zambians should have a choice in what news site they read and not being blocked.I choose LT and others ZWD or post, it’s your choice and government has no business in trying to regulate news like they are trying to do.
Again if you don’t believe in their news don’t read it. If you want to come up with your own news site go ahead we shall visit your sites if it’s interesting, but don’t try to bring your friends down because they have a different opinion from yours
@Mann, well spoken.
Looks like even the vice president is an import, or do Zambians shade off black pigment!
@Binoculars, you are being racist. In this day and age, only small minds dwell on racism and tribalism. Is this the best you can contribute to a topic like this?. Grow up.
@Captain Jerry Mouse, if you cannot beat them join them. Beat them at their own game. There are so many online media and other options. Bombard their facebook page with what you want to say. Let the world know.
..the govt can come in to help with a few SIs….restricting certain particular goods…eg PPE(overalls. safety shoes, helmets etc), bolts and nuts…special request with valid reasons has to be sort for exemption to import such goods
I don’t know of any product made in Zambia which can be supplied to the mines, unless we say mulembwe, katapa, maize etc, but do the mines use these products? In this country Manufacturing Industry is not supported in any way, people with brilliant manufacturing ideas have had their applications for funding shelved or pushed into the waste bin by such organizations as CEEC, even banks cannot help and you stand there saying supply locally made goods, which goods? Mr VP if you have nothing better to say, shut your mouth.
Walk the talk Mr Vice President. If you ever think that mining firms will stand up and deliver what you expect them, you must be naive. What a government does is to create an implementation strategy give it to them and say follow this. You have technocrats in the mines ministry, surely, they can identify the items you feel can be manufactured in Zambia, in the short term; impose the list on the mines. And work on the long term ones. It saddened me to read how Mopani changed the mining methods which led to massive losses of jobs. Education or school is meant to help us live better; so think and act on these things, not ukulanda landa fye!!