Friday, March 29, 2024

I have not approved any retrenchment in the mines at all-President Lungu

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President Lungu
President Lungu

PRESIDENT Lungu says he has not sanctioned retrenchment of miners by mining companies as attributed to him in the international media by one of the mining firms.

The President says he urged the unions and firms to negotiate the future of miners and not rush into retrenching the workforce.

“I have not approved any retrenchment at all. I said the union and the mining companies should meet and talk about the future of their workers and not to throw them on the streets,” President Lungu said in Ndola yesterday.

Speaking at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport on his arrival in Ndola, Mr Lungu assured the miners country-wide that Government would protect their interests.

The President is quoted by online media Bloomberg Business publication of September 21, 2015, saying that he is open to job cuts at Glencore Plc’s local unit – Mopani Copper Mines – as the company faces low copper prices and rising costs.

He has promised to visit the Copperbelt in a week’s time.

“I want to visit the mines and see for myself what the challenges are because I know that there is a statement that has been attributed to us by a mining house that I had sanctioned the retrenchments…which is not true.”

President Lungu also said it is unfair for mining companies to abandon their investment in the country at a time when copper prices are low but offered no incentives when the prices of the metal were high.

“When times are good and they make super profits, they do not increase salaries, so even when times are bad, they should keep those people in employment and wait for good times. That is how you do business.

“You cannot be an investor only when times are good and when they are bad, you withdraw your investment, which we will not allow.

“So, we have made it very clear; we are not going to support retrenchments which will put our people on the street, retrenchments have to be negotiated and agreed upon. When a mining house is acting outside the law, they will find it very difficult to continue operating in Zambia because we have allowed them to operate freely and that does not mean we are weak, no. There are measures we can take,” he said.

The President appealed for calm, saying the Patriotic Front leadership would protect the interest of Zambians.

“We will make sure that you get your fair share from this economy by being paid your wages and if you are going to be laid off, you should be paid within the law and get your package. We are partners, the investors; the Zambian government and the workers are in partnership, so we should be together in times of joy and difficulties.

“I must assure that I am coming back, you have not been abandoned. The Government is in place because of you, so we cannot let you down,” he said.

42 COMMENTS

  1. It’s true when they make super profits they fail to even give a pay rise to the miners. When things get bad they want to sacrifice the miners and close down mines and run away. When copper prices pick up they come back under different names as new investors. Are these true investors or they are simply infestors.

    • Chagwa is weak in all areas cant make one single decision!!,,, miner are not retrenching,, they HAVE ALREADY RETRENCHED!,, letters to they affected have been served!, get over it and move on! by the way its prayer today, we are waiting for chagwa miracle!!

    • Mr DIMWIT Sponge Bob, can you tell us when the mines have ever made “super profits”?

      I am quite sure you are clueless on just how much money is required as a CAPITAL INVESTMENT to get a mine going. And all of that is spent on infrastructure right here IN ZAMBIA that a mine cannot remove overnight. The mines collapsed under UNIP because KK and his sycophants failed to re-invest the “super profits” they got from copper sales until the mines became unworkable.

      Are you suggesting these mining companies are also that dull and do something that stupid too?

    • Ndobo you are too late. Theres already a miracle in Lusaka. A rainbow has halo d the sun. This means Kabimba may be our next president. He will be looking for a finance minister to fight retrenchments. Are you game?

    • @Ndobo, you will see miracles today and this week, all miners should turn-up in numbers at their mines and get back their jobs.
      I just pray that Edgar will not be possessed with holy spirit in public.

    • @sponge, these are businessmen. They come here to make money and pay their taxes. They are not NGOs. You failed to run ZCCM sustainabiy. If they cannot get enough cash, how can they keep the workforce? Even u as a Zambian, can u do that?

  2. Your Excellency,
    do you REALLY think that you can “approve” or “disapprove” any decision of a body corporate? And if you do, can you please quantify under which law(s) your powers to make such decision arise.
    Please, reserve your comments for the 1mbeciles like “sponge bob” instead to directing them to the people with functional brain.

    • @IQ128 You are the one who is an imbecile because you don’t even read the contents of the article, you are always thirsty for negative comments against the government! Please read because the President is clearly reacting to publication attributed to him! What kind of people are you who always want to pull others down ?

    • And that publication is based on the press release of HIS “great” (lol) journalist Chama.
      As to be “********” it is any time better than certified arse licking jackass like you.
      “What kind of people are you who always want to pull others down ?”
      I am of the kind which does not believe that the pigs can fly and instead I am knowledgeable enough to understand implications which my arise out of illegal actions which are subject to either ICSID or UNICITRAL.
      Carry on sucking 1mbecile

  3. This Chagwa guy thinks it is him who has to approve whether the mining companies retrenches its workers or not! So this guy thinks he is that powerful to control the corporate world! This drunkard must be living in a dream world. He should know that their is no law which compels these multi national companies to increase salaries of its workers when they make super profits and if they feel the profits are not forth coming they leave, you can’t stop them! Edgar, talk like that when addressing blind supporters like this cadre sponge bob not the whole country!

  4. This ka ***** is really a waste of space. So he expects employees to convince their employers not to fire them? Is this not where the government is supposed to come in

    • Lungu is really showing exactly how incompetent he is in business matters! How can any President say –

      “When times are good and they make super profits, they do not increase salaries, so even when times are bad, they should keep those people in employment and wait for good times. That is how you do business.”

      No, Mr President. That is not how you do business. That is how your Company GOES BANKRUPT! Wait for what? For how long? Where is the money going to come from?

      No surprise that the economy of Zambia has collapsed if this is the kind of IDlOTIC THINKING we have right ate the top!

  5. Contradictions, contradictions. You have liberalized the economy, therefore your responsibility functionally ends at giving tax concessions and wooing the investor to come in. After that it is the wild west. That is the reality of what was embraced in 1991. Notice, of course, how the proponents of the free market economy like the USA are now crying foul over the overrun being played on them by the Middle Eastern airlines. I keep saying whenever you agree or sign onto the dotted line, you MUST think of a few years (usually a decade) hence.

  6. Ediga, those investors are bussiness pipo they are not a social enterprise or an NGO. their sole purpose of being there is to make maximum profit, they don’t look out for your well being.

  7. It’s a spiral effect, house boys and girls employed by these miners will also lose there jobs. Giish, something really has to be done, but one thing I know, any investor any where in the world when faced with declining returns, they have to undergo a survival strategy while monitoring the market changes. Unfortunately, one such action to be undertaken is cutting costs and mostly salaries/ wages get affected. Believe me, we will not run away from retrenchment. These are measure as a country we need to take to save Zambia as at now. Reduce the number of Ministers and travels to cut costs.

  8. Mr presido, retrenchment is not only in the mines please pliz c to it that yu also visit kafue steel, south African chain stores like Edgars and Food lovers, Swiftcash at postal services and other institutions where there is retrenchment .

  9. The drunkard has for once said something sensible, but you don’t sort out such issues with statements. You need to revise labour laws to protect workers. While retrenchments are inevitable under the circumstances, workers need social protection. Instead of asking for bribes ****wel mandevu should have been proposing laws that protect the labour force.

  10. I have read the article over and over again, I have not seen where President Lyngu says he has to approve or disapprove retrenchments in the mines. What I read is that HE denied what Bloomberg attributed to him.
    Now I wonder whether I have to temporarily join the UPND as a cadre before I can what they read. I thought that English language cuts across political lines, olo limbi kwaliba english yaba UPND?

    • You must be terribly dull. After reading over and over you still can’t get what the first paragraph is saying. You are the people who want to argue over and over on things your IQ can not comprehend. Please do not join UPND just stay where you are. Bye the way, in which grade did you drop out?

    • You must be terribly dull. After reading over and over you still can’t get what the first paragraph is saying. You are the people who want to argue over and over on things your IQ can not comprehend. Please do not join UPND just stay where you are. By the way, in which grade did you drop out?

  11. Glencore has restructured its global ownership Preservation of Mines in Zambia in that “’sell-out or shake off”’ will be critical to see for Zambia
    There is one mine in DRC called KIBALI GOLD mine in the North east It will be important to learn and see how its sustaining its lifelong mining operations venturing into large scale mining projects including the development of its SECOND developed hydro power stations to supply its power needs long-term

    It’s a good example in mining investments and sustainability

  12. One of the signs of slump in mining investments in a country IS REDUCED OR PROSPECTING ACTIVITIES To ensure there more appetite to invest and deter hostile shake ups invite as many quality prospecting firms as possible to ensure ZAMBIA remains in the Investments Grade B as ranked in Sovereign and Corporate Considerations avoiding the impairment of that from the damage in image that may arise from the CLOSURES with others getting a wrong sentiment from the result

  13. You can not threaten those mine owes comrade Lungu you are in for a shocker just wait you keep on lying to your cadres these investors will disappoint you big time best you just shut up tell that to your pundit at ministry of information.

  14. Lusaka times u r hardly accessible here in johannesburg , whats wrong with network , please fix yo system we rely on yo news , big up

    • @ Chakumalast, do you not know that Jamesoni Lungu, just like Sata before him are spending millions of US Dollars of taxpayers money on blocking critical websites that point out the failures and corruption of this PF Government?

      And that it was for this reason they seized Zamtel from Lap Green?

      And that after promising to sell off Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail they have broken those promises and retained Government control of these?

      So do not complain to LT, it is our big fat useless Minister of Information called Disaster Kambwili that you need to address this problem to!

  15. Thousands of jobs are going to be lost here in the UK in Scunthorpe in the steel industry due to cheaper imports from China. Tata the company involved say they can’t sustain the unit any more. Such is the nature of business these days.
    The challenge for effective governments is in putting into place measures that will result in attracting other investments in other areas to create job opportunities.

  16. What a dull man this lazy bum Edgar is…do you own any shares in those mines to sanction anything? You are quick to respond to articles in Bloomberg yet you cower away from interviews from Global agencies. You are eager to visit the mines on this selfsame issue yet you are mute on issues of corruption in your govt.

  17. Tomorrow Mopani workers will feel the pinch. Edgar has no authority to allow or disallow such job cuts. He is responsible for other problems like power and lack of leadership. Otherwise HH was and still is a better alternative not Nervous Mumba the iddiot who was whispering in Edgar’s hear this afternoon.

  18. I am to say that even UPND cadres, who get huge salaries from the mines, will be affected. The K250 and more donations to UPND will come to an end.

  19. This drunkard thinks the mines are just as stupid as his fossil Chikwanda!

    What does he expect them to do? Just go out and borrow a few billions EUROBOND that they are incapable of repaying like PF has done?

    And when that money has finished and there is no copper production go begging to the IMF to bail them out with another HIPC?

    This is really the most clueless IDlOT ever to have wasted Zambians taxes in State House!

  20. We encourage His Excellency to show them, ‘The Claws.’ Why not just stop giving them that tax we owe them until prices improve? Can they please start paying their electricity as well.

    Nationalisation should be reconsidered and reinstated. We need to control that 70% to our GDP. We are being strangled.

  21. Dear Sir, I write to say please be firm, these investors think we are all afraid to loose them, not knowing that others are just waiting for them to say bye and they shall come to take over. what is most hurting is to be intimidated by these visitors who are here just to enrich themselves and causing the shortage of dollars in circulation. All they do is make the kwacha and change into Dollar.
    Even a chigayo owner thinks he/ she can make Zambia dance to their tune. We can start by stopping buying one brand of mealie meal especially from the one who is spearheading the campaign to hike prices and can assure you he shall fall and the rest will learn a lesson. Whose brand shall we start with?

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