The opposition Patriotic Front has bemoaned the declining fortunes in the mining sector on the Copperbelt.
This follows the government’s position that investing in Mopani, a mining giant which needs $300 million is not a priority.
Addressing the media yesterday in the company of other lawmakers, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Hon Brian Mundubile charged that government will do anything to ensure that they don’t invest in mines to push a narrative that Zambians can’t run mines.
Hon Mundubile said an investment of $300 million into the mining giant would transform the lives of the people on the Copperbelt.
“The casing point is Mopani which requires an investment of $300 million. With that investment, jobs will be saved, and contractors on the Copperbelt will have to work on the mines. You would love to know that the economy on the Copperbelt is a cash economy, you have to have the money. The source of that money is actually the mines,” he said.
He lamented that people on the Copperbelt are going through unspeakable misery.
“Government said investing in Mopani is not a priority. This is very shocking to us because we know that investing $3 million in Mopani was going to resolve a number of issues on the Copperbelt.”
Meanwhile, Mundubile challenged the government to tell citizens what alternative measures they have if the said investment is not a priority.
“If investing in Mopani is not a priority, certainly, elevating the challenges people are facing on the Copper belt is a Priority to the government. So if the government has other means of resolving the declining economic fortunes on the Copperbelt, let them inform the people on the Copperbelt and the nation what those measures will be,” he said.
What happened to the Gold mine in Solwezi? Wasn’t it this same PF that sold it to foreigners instead of investing for the locals? You PF chaps had all the time and trust to empower Zambians but your system of deliberately holding back development until elections was partly responsible for your election loss. What fortunes in our mining sector did you create during your time in office? Black mountain? Stop messing around with people.
If the PF sold a mine to foreigners it doesn’t mean even the UPND should do the same no, this is were the UPND and its supporters are missing it, all am seen is you are fast moving away to what was promised to the zambian about ownership. zambians must own large shares in the mines and other businesses now if you say investing in the mines its a priority what is the UPND priority in the mines?
Zambias can run mines; what can’t run mines is the government. Parastatals failed but if the opposition party wants to invest some of its loot, that welcome.
@Ras Natty, UPND are a clone of PF because history tells us that most of these people jump ship to where the wind blows. Interesting to see that when someone is criticising PF, the assumption is that you belong to UPND and vice versa. There was a time in our history when Zambia had full control of our mines. Those were the days our country experienced real growth and produced real opportunities. Unfortunately the beneficiaries of our old ZIMCO bursaries then, are the same ones letting the country down today.
PF was in charge for 10 years. why did you not invest then? You made the worst deals ever with KCM and Mopani. Thank God we got rid of these losers.
This is wisdom. I have been telling you all the same. Hh thinks we are dull. This is his ploy to come finish off his privatisation motives as directed by his white masters. Fuseke chi hh
My foolish namesake you are even more obtuse than I am. Are your children as retarded as you?
PF should bring back all the money they stole. Mundubile was paid huge sums of money by the PF regime on the pretext of building a road that is non exist. This proves that all PF chaps are thieves and Zambians voted them out on that basis, it would be insulting to Zambians for PF to come back.
Brian Mundubile have you asked yourself that GRZ is not investing in the mines because they have no money as you misused evrything …all those under table deals with Gencore thieves and the mess you created at KCM. Where is GRZ going to get $300 million …why dont you give them suggestions?
Mundubile since you want to sound like a “very honest lawyer”, telll us what Lungu’s role in Array Metal was? He authorised it to buy gold from North Western province, in whose interest?
You just need to look at Milingo Lungu’s scams done within such supersonic speed to answer your own assertion that the government is deliberately not investing in mines to give the impression that Zambians cannot run the mines by themselves
If Milingo could do all that damage in the space of one year, can you imagine what he could have done in five?
Can you imagine …remember the loans ZCCM was giving IDC those $100 million USD during PF …where did they all go? This money that should have been re-invested but this clown is making noise about lack of investment in the mines.
You could not even let us manage the gold mine in Mwinilunga and brought in investor with small monies that you could have raised locally. shame
With this attitude, the UPND should forget about getting any votes from the Copperbelt in 2026.
It is sad that Zambian politicians do not have business acumen. The government through ZCCM-IH owning mines is not the same as Zambians owning mines. This should be dissected. ZCCM-IH does not have the cashflow to run Mopani Copper Mine which it currently wholly owns. What investment can be made without channeling money from other causes? One way to invest in the mine is to bring an equity partner to take over the 49% of the mine while ZCCM-IH maintains the majority but brings in capital. You have to use other people’s money in business.
We must be progressive in our thinking.
We have many Zambians that can buy the shares that our government has in the mines so that Zambians ourselves can directly be responsible in running the mines and NOT our government.
It is this ***** Brian Mundubile again.