Government has learnt with concern that Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi has retrenched 93 workers and plans to retrench 400 others.
Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili has since warn that government will not take kindly to any mining company that decides to lay off its workers arbitrarily under the pretext of the new mining tax regime.
Mr. Kambwili who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister pointed out that all mining companies are aware of the standing order which obliges them to consult the government through the Ministry of Labour before any decision to retrench any worker is effected.
He said it was government’s considered view that should there be need to retrench anyone by the mining companies, the first workers to be retrenched should be expatriates and not Zambians.
Mr. Kambwili said government has been extremely flexible and magnanimous on the issue of the mining tax as evidenced by President Edgar Lungu’s directive to the Minister of Finance and Mines to review the mining tax regime and make recommendations to Cabinet by 8th April, 2015.
Among the options the President asked the Ministers to consider were the status quo but negotiate interim fiscal arrangements for operations that are most affected on a case-by-case basis, identifying potential legal or regulatory modifications to the existing 2015 fiscal regime that could be readily passed and implemented and defer implementation of the 2015 fiscal regime.
Another option was to temporary reinstate the 2014 fiscal regime as a more amicable regime is negotiated.
Mr. Kambwili said government expects all mining companies to reciprocate its gesture on this matter.
“Government appeals to Kansanshi to reinstate the 93 workers as the right procedure has not been followed,”Mr. Kambwili said.
He reiterate government’s commitment to creating a favourable environment for both local and private investments to flourish saying this should be done within the country’s laws and regulations.
What makes Kambwili think he can tell anyone how to run their business? Kambwili should open his own mine and wait for instructions on who, how and howmany people he will hire from government. Kekekekekek!
Pwaaz!!! Learn to engage your brain before you type rubbish
Iwe, the man is right what’s wrong with you expect govt to stay quite when the mine is retreching miners particulary zambians when expats are being spared.
I expect the business to retain the workforce that maximizes production and profits. The mines are in business to make money and not to provide social welfare and safety nets. As long as they are adhering to our labor and other laws and paying taxes the government has no business telling them how to operate. Private sector free enterprise. If the work load they have does not justify having these extra employees unfortunate as it maybe they have to take whatever steps they have to streamline their cost. It is much cheaper to return local workers than expatriates therefore other than to return necessary expertise which they have to I see no reason why they would retrench locals and keep expatriates. Business is business!
This shows that some of you Zambians has no brains being aganist what Kambwilli said why retrench poor Zambians when theres expatriates who earn big salaries in dollars no ways mines will cut costs and save alot of money by retrenching these expensive foreigners
The bottom line is most expatriates are more effective and productive at work than some of these PF-voting miners. An employer has the right to choose which employees should remain when the going is getting tough.
How much are these Ministers, DCs and some not so “civil” Civil Servants appointed as PSs on patronage basis earn, at whose cost? Do not malign expatriates for coming to Zambia. The problem is your work permit system; administered by the same S…heads like Kambwili and his kind in Cabinet and PSs,appointed on partisan basis who issue work permits willy-nilly. Expats who come into the mining industry or any other entity in Zambia are supposed to highly skilled in specialized fields which local institutions can not offer training in and therefore be highly paid for their skills.Contracts should be for a fixed term for a specific position with a laid out programme to train locals and leave at the end of that Contract. Here, every Jim&Jack gets a work permit to run a Kantemba wamuyaya.
You can not tell me how to run my home. That’s a private business and people are in business to make profits. It’s not a charitable organization. If the business can still run perfectly without them then why keep them? In business it’s all about maximizing profits. Government should open up mines and run them and employ as many as they can.
Then let’s just take them back after all the minerals are on our land! You and I are stakeholders in these mines and we need to be heard. But obviously yours is profit as opposed to adding value to the community and country as a whole. Conflicting priorities?
@Stella, we all have the same priorities at least between what you seem to advocate and my position. The only difference is the way through which we want those ends met. You seem to propose that we achieve this by holding our current partners and investors by the arm and direct their operation. This will work for only a handful of investors. Only those investors that feel they have reached a critical capital investment threshold and will take any measures we force them to. This will not help in the long run. The investors that use the finance approach to business will not take this and will cut thier losses and walk. One the other hand we are proposing is that by creating a free market environment with an emphasis on social and environmental responsibility we will get more back.
When you are retrenching your maids and garden boys nobody makes noise because you know your costs. Some Zambians should be civil for once! Retrenching is in order
PF does not understand economics. That’s why the country is grinding to a halt. A free-falling exchange rate, low copper prices, a nonsensical mineral royalty regime, and batty labour arrangements do not make for a profitable mining environment. Retrenchments are the natural result. Beyond this, expect mine closures. That’s the only way PF will know that they can’t run the economy.