Friday, March 29, 2024

Over 700 miners set to lose jobs at Kalumbila Mine

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Chief Government Spokesman Chishimba Kambwili
Chief Government Spokesman Chishimba Kambwili

Over 700 miners are set to lose their jobs at Kalumbila mine in North Western Province.

In a communication letter to the Ministry of Labour the mine said the move was necessitated by ZESCO’S move to reduce power supply to the mine to 70 megawatts from 150 megawatts.

The mining firm has in a letter indicated that at, this level it is only possible to run half of the Sentinel plant and that significant cuts particularly to the labour force will need to be carried out if the project is to remain viable.

The company further said another 350 jobs currently under recruitment will be placed on hold if the power supply restrictions are not lifted.

But Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili said construction of the Lusaka- Kalumbila power line by ZESCO is currently under way.

Mr. Kambwili said Government is committed to ensuring that the project is completed soon to boost power supply to the mining industry and other economic sectors in North Western Province.

Mr. Kambwili spoke to ZNBC news in Kitwe.

39 COMMENTS

  1. The Minister should answer to the current job loss issue not when the dam or what will happen after the dam is completed, if i read the news correctly.

    • If people in the CB vote for PF in 2016, after all the lies upon lies that their jobs will be saved and yet more and more are being lost every day they will be f00ls to do that.

      PF has managed to turn the whole CB into a ghost town in just five years. What more if they are allowed another five years. Nothing will be left of CB.

      People in CB please wake up and smell the coffee. PF has destroyed your cities your jobs and lively hoods and you still praise it.

      Vote UPND in 2016

    • A power connection without supply is as pointless as a pot with boiling water without mealie meal. No nshima will come out. It’s going nowhere ; there will be no productivity. Chimbwili should just have said that it is global. The mines should lay off as many miners as they want to lay off.

    • Yes copper prices being low is global, but power cuts is absolutely Zambian. Let people incharge do something. Waiting for Mr Kambwili to issue a political statement

  2. But Kambwili will order them not to fire the workers, no single miner will lose the Job, this is the government position and we are categorical on this!

  3. Zambians, very gullible. They thought that after Lungu signed constitution all their problem would finally disappear. So they went ahead & gave PF praise for the job they’re supposed to do, the job that was supposed to be done in 90 days of being in power. Gullible!

    • Spark Jarrow #

      Only a gullible like you would think that signing the constitution will solve problems

      Keep supporting the loosing team

    • @Sure Ka…
      The losing team are the people of Zambia, not politicians. Politicians are always men and women of means. keep that in mind. The losing team is the kid on the street walking barefooted to school or get sent home because he or she can’t pay school fees. That is the losing team. The losing team is the market woman who cannot make ends meet no matter how hard she tries. That is the losing team.

  4. The constitution amendment bill has now been signed into law and reality is soon catching up with all of us that, the constitution they made a big deal of as a great achievement to win elections, actually was the people’s wish and less important than the economy. Let’s face it, PF did not draft the constitution; the people did and because PF couldn’t do anything to improve the economy, they are all of a sudden jumping into dramatizing the constitution as if they never were against it in the first place. The 50 + 1% only comes into play every 5 years, but the BoR are the actual tenets of the people’s freedom on a daily basis. PF can’t do anything that they have planned and thought through, let alone stand firm without reversing. I applaud ECL for the 50 + 1% and the dual citizenship, but…

    • But we need to look for—as a people—thinkers, planners, and those who can provide reasonable solutions to our economy, not these PF guys who are all about politics. The economy is dying, there’s too much corruption, suppression of the people, confusion, everything foul that can be said of our government. Wow! Breaks my heart so bad.

  5. Why applaud PF for robbing Zambians of a people driven constitution?

    Would.you thank.a.thief who restores say 80% of what he stole from you……..?

    Lungu and PF have robbed Zambians and to cover their deception they organized a party at Heroes Stadium to sign, seal and deliver a PF constitution by PF and.for PF.

  6. 700 Miner’s lose their jobs.. How many families are affected? Is any one thinking of this? Yes we finally got the constitution we wanted after bashi Castro and others took us for the longest roller coaster ride with out any say.. But 2016 let’s see where Zambia is going

  7. awe sure very depressing indeed I feel for my country men this blind guy and his blind subjects awe sure parrot chimbwili, horn bill sunday chanda, woodpecker mumbi phiri, humming bird tayali, owl davis chama and mwankole father bwalya ala twasanswa ifi fyoni ichongo umoshachela ehe globle,ehe HH,ehe humble,ehe I command,ehhe shetanist,ehe tribalist ! do us a favor will you stop politicking and do some work 8 months is still a lot of time to save face and get a honorable send off

  8. How can ZESCO cut or reduce supply….when the mines are supplied by Copper Energy Corporation which has contracts with ZESCO hence the reason Govt is importing electricity to meet those obligations. Someone in the know explain to us??

    • Kalumbila is in NW Province and thus note on CEC (Copperbelt) network.

      How many clauses did PF chop from the people driven draft paper submitted to Govt by the Silungwe team for them to now end up with a PF chigamba constitution ?

    • If this is in NW then this is a FQM mine…in hindsight it makes sense why FQM has strategically partnered with the Tswanas in funding the construction of the 300MW (expanding to 600MW) coal fired power plant in Mmamabula West, Botswana to supply them with power in the future. They know we are unreliable especially that we have put all our eggs in Hydro dependent on rainfall.

  9. PF are all gamblers, they are all but gambling on external factors to fix the economy–China in particular.
    Zambia is not incontrol of its own economy.
    If China does not import copper Zambia is screwed.
    Very sad situation to be in

    • Today the Chinese stock market crashed for the second time in less than a week!

      So Lungu and his PF better organise another DAY OF PRAYER to pray for a recovery so the Chinese can start buying lots of copper again.

  10. Imagine it was HH in power blundering like this with PF in opposition? There would have been civil strife. Thank God for putting PF in power. Zambians will welcome a new party and president in 7 months with a full 5 year mandate to clean up this mess!

  11. upnd brain washed bloggers only surface on miseries that befall Zambians from time to time. things like miners losing jobs, road accidents, power failures, cholera outbreaks, increased mealie meal prices but NEVER show up on good things like national prayers, constitution signing, Kwacha stabilising, adequate medicines in hospitals and clinics, new roads in townships, bridges including Mufuchani bridge on Kafue river in Kitwe why? The answer is simple they are not with the people. All they think about is what they will benefit themselves should the unthinkable happen. This is why they are only popular on social media, on the ground its zero. Come August people are going to emulate the way they voted last January. Ignore the advice at your own peril, after all you don’t listen from…

    • The illitrate slave mentality of PF supporters on display. Why should we applaud and worship a GRZ for doing things it is supposed to do as a minimum, like build bridges and supply medicines??? And why should we not condem them when they are not doing other things they are supposed to be doing like preventing cholera, preventing power outages??. You think just because zambians are African they must survive on bare minimums?? You will be shocked, people have woken up.

    • Kabso, you are the ones that have been BRAINWASHED!

      I am not UPND or any other party, but I can see clearly that PF is the most clueless lazy and incompetent bunch of idi.ots ever to be in Government.

      It’s the ECONOMY stupid!

  12. Ba Chishimba do you expect the mining companies to source their own energy? I think HH has a plan for the mines but he won’t tell you until after August

  13. Face it guys,
    Zambians CANNOT run a business venture.
    Look at the plethora of women going to Dubai daily on Kenya Airways/Emirates/Ethiopian Airways to bring goods into Zambia, yet, they live from hand-to-mouth. By contrast, the tea seller on the street of Mumbai sends his son to university in America. The same mentality is replicated in the central government. Zambians should just concentrate on providing labour and let Indians and Chinese run the business. You will all derive a higher standard of living. Power shortage will be a thing of the past. Kids will be better educated. Strikes at tertiary institutions will be a thing of the past. Food will be cheaper.Textile mills will dot the countryside.

    • @Malhotra, If all businesses in the world and Zambia indeed were run by Indians and Chinese, I would agree with you. There are Zambians who are running business well but are stifled by lack of capital due to high interest rates and lack of government support. Not everybody is a trader like the one you see on flights to wherever! Even those are better off than working in an Indian shop.There are Zambians running productive ventures feeding this nation and contributing to real GDP growth! Please do not look at Zambia in the eyes of trading Asians and expect everybody to be like them.But there are things we need to learn from Asians: thrifty,networking ,focus and hardwork

    • The blogger is simply expressing his desire and those of like mind. Some of us saw this coming, but how many did listen? This is a possibility which could befall this nation, if all we do is only politic blindly.

  14. Any loss of employment in the mining sector linked to factors such as power supply which is outside falling copper prices will be considered recklessness on the part of the government. Some mines have already scaled down production and we are importing some electricity so there must sufficient power to go around. So if there power deficits eight months after we knew what is before us then, that means there is real failure somewhere and some one must explain or be taught a lesson for such failure!

  15. Its the duty of every government to build roads, hospitals and so forth, but people couldn’t get these things in the last 20 years mmd was in power. The last street lights and township roads, many of us saw were done by unip. People appreciate what they can see and will respond likewise, not fake promises boss. You have to work very,very hard to convinve people why they should vote for your man. Boss you will remember me, it will be very hard, promises against reality bwafya sana boss mukose. Go and see what is in Lufwanyama and many other places. The problem with you upnd you are quick at insult and demean your opponents, instead of telling us what you are going to do. Insults won’t take hh to state house bwana,wait for 11 August. I understand your pain, but the man is not winning boss…

  16. let zesco revert to the dropped tariffs so that many domestic users can fail hence the power will be taken to the mine and save jobs.

    • Maybe he is a good businessman and THAT is why he is rich! Maybe his business skills can make Zambia rich too!

      Or would you rather have a failed drunkard lawyer that steals from his clients? What do you think he is going to do for you? Will he make you rich?

      Or just steal from you too?

  17. This uPMD, is it a serious party? Are they serious about taking power and governing this country? Surely not, look at the comments of their cadres, they are so confused with fast moving events that they no longer know what they want or even what they are complaining about. Today they say, this tomorrow that. Look here cadres, if you don’t know what you want how do you make strategies for people to vote for your party? Your potential supporters are so confused by the uPMD lack of consistency. They see that the only thing consistent about uPMD is HH going to state house. Not enough to win a presidential election at all.

  18. As for Urinal Post, the more they urinate in their “news” the more they look like the fully fledged idi.ots that they are. You are forgiven for weeping for them, they are such a sorry sight but pity they don’t know that. Just a they say, an idi.ot cannot tell when people are laughing at it.
    The Urinal Post should rest be assured that we have a water tight strategy to expose them for what they are. cant wIt to see them dance pelete when campaigns start!!
    By the way have they managed to fill up the Kariba with their urine? Where I am load wedding has continued, come on Urinal editor, tell us why.

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