Emerald Production Watch of Zambia president Musa Kafimbwa has appealed to the newly appointed Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary Hapenga Kabeta to halt the rampant illegal mining of precious stones in the country and bring sanity in the gemstone sector.
Speaking in an interview in Kitwe today, Mr Kafimbwa bemoaned the numerous irregularities and underperformance of the mining sector.
He said there are a lot of mistakes that were made by the previous regime that need to be addressed immediately for the country to reap maximum benefits from the sector.
He called on the new Mines Permanent Secretary to be bold enough and resolve the challenges that are hindering the growth of the sector.
“There were multiple mistakes that were made by the previous government which we need to correct right now because these minerals are to beneficial if we really plan and put a road map to the mining industry,” He said.
Mr Kafimbwa was optimistic that the new PS will bring in a positive transformation towards resolving the various challenges that are hindering the growth of the sector.
He stated that it was heart breaking to hear the President pleading with the new PS to help correct things in the mining sector when he was swearing in the new appointees.
He said the President’s words strongly indicated that he was aware that things were not moving and he would want the ministry to perform better.
“The challenges at the ministry of mines require the head of state, his minister, and the permanent secretary to take serious steps in line with his vision to grow this sensitive sector which currently has too many pending files,” he said.
President Hakainde Hichilema appointed recently Dr. Hapenga Kabeta as Mines Permanent Secretary replacing Mooya Lumamba whose contract was terminated.
