Business and Financial Analyst Blessings Kafwanka has called on government to consider reintroducing the 7.5 percent import duty on copper concentrates in the 2018 National Budget.
Mr. Kafwanka has told QTV Business News that this 7.5 percent import duty was there in the 2017 national budget but was later removed as the copper prices on the international market were not so good.
Mr. Kafwanka says now that copper prices on the international market are improving, it is imperative that the government considers reintroducing this import duty on copper concentrates.
And the Business and Financial Analyst says the increase in copper prices on the international market is a positive development for Zambia as the country depends on copper production for financial earnings.
He says Zambia’s economy has gone through a lot of stress in the recent past and that the increase in the copper prices has come as a relief to the country’s economy.
SLAP MCM WITH ALL SORTS OF TAXES UNTIL THEY WITHDRAW FROM ZAMBIA. WE NEED SERIOUS INVESTORS NOT INFESTORS LIKE MCM
Like former BOZ Govenor, Dr. Caleb Fundanga put it, we need a clear and permanent policy on these mine taxes. Not changing them with each successive regime. As things stand, Zambia will never have a government in place for more than two terms because it may remain the same party but different personnel or different parties. We don’t need MMD or PF or UPND or FDD etc policies, WE JUST NEED A CLEAR NATIONAL POLICY ON MINING TAXES that will cater for even future generations of Zambians. So it would be prudent for Mr. Kafwanka to advise on a long term strategy not only when rices start reducing or increasing.
The government should just set the benchmark under which 7.5% on copper imports should be paid take for instance if the copper price goes down beyond the set benchmark that is when the copper mines shouldn’t pay the import duty…..this will make it easy for the mines to get the much needed copper import duty from the mines whenever the price goes above the set minimum benchmark under which mines will be made not to pay import duty.
Many mines in Zambia have opened up smelter plants and they are finding it cheaper to process imported concentrate as they don’t incur any mining / operation cost which they do when it comes to mining copper themselves in Zambia.
the cost of processing is the one which is making them to even threaten the pull out from mining activities which is costly…
Then we have to ask why is the cost of mining high in zambia and why do our mines import. What makes other countries cheaper to produce concentrate than zambia….. we introduce 7.5%import duty then what do we process and what does the redundant labour force do.
With firms like KCM who have never made a profit in 17years, always eager to sue and black mail govt I don’t see any way the reintroduction of this import tax will work. Mines will simply lower the export amount to squeeze govt into succuming. In a normal country things like this don’t happen.
My dear friends Mining copper from open pit mines is cheaper than underground, if we talk of Zambia most of its copper is from underground mines….. there is also other cost such as pumping underground water if we put into consideration Konkola & Lubambe Mines …….
the only expensive part of open pit mines is stripping of waste, these other costs cannot be comparable to underground mines; which require artificial ventilation of excavations, hoisting, more electricity to cater for this, lowering of men and far off tramming distances and hoisting of waste / ore.
A lot is involved my dear friend when it comes to underground operations, it’s not something easy.