In one of our write ups not so long ago, we intimated that some New Dawn Ministers seem to be comfortable at sea…..leaving the President to bite the bullet alone or indeed do all the donkey work! From now onwards, we intend to write epistles to cabinet ministers and other senior government officials to bring matters of national interest to their attention, hoping that they’d be prompted to respond to burning issues.
Today, we we’d like to address Mines Minister, Paul Kabuswe where ever he may be.
When gold was struck in Kikonge, Mufumbwe, hundreds of people invaded the site from far and wide, immediately! The Kikonge treasure trove seemed sufficient to transform many of our people from paupers to life of relative comfort, overnight – they were able to invest in real estate, snap up ‘ma’ Mark X, kiss good bye to salaula, afford 3 square meals a day and at least, send their kids to decent schools!
Government eventually deployed security to restore order and curb illegal mining. Having come this close to the fountain of fortune, the so called illegal miners were not willing to decamp any time soon. As the situation escalated and spiralled out of control; they clashed with the police, resulting in enormous damage to property, injuries and, of course, fatalities!
This shouldn’t have been allowed to occur under your watch Hon. Minister…..this is a serious indictment on your part. Had it been in advanced nations, knives would have already come out for you and we would have been demanding for your immediate resignation from office.
While in opposition, UPND pledged to resolve illegal mining. What has happened to those plans 4 years after being in office or we expect the entire President to be spearheading such initiatives?
This country is endowed with so much natural resources that if we put selfishness and greed aside for once and tried to be a bit patriotic, non of us would go hungry. And can’t even be trooping to beg from IMF and World Bank where small boys get to lecture our leaders on how to manage our affairs, prudently. Copper, cobalt, gold, sugilite, uranium and mukula everywhere! How come we are still failing to harness these resources to improve the welfare of our people?
If at all mineral exploration can reveal availability of massive gold deposits in Mufumbwe, we see no reason why government must delay incorporating a company to undertake proper mining. Or we would rather wait for foreigners to do the same!
If, however, there’s a limited lifespan of the mine for government to bother about investing in the same, we might want to consider implementing the following measures:
1. Restrict access to the site with road blocks and foot patrols 24/7. However, don’t leave this responsibility to ZP or ZNS alone……We’ve heard too many stories of plunder about them. Office of the President must equally be on site.
2. Subdivide the mine and allocate portions to youths who should organize themselves in co-operatives.
3. Provide the necessary training to would be miners and assign mining inspectors and safety officers to monitor the activities.
4. Empower them with equipment and working capital under the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission.
5. All gold produced at the mine must be sold to government authorised agents, spot cash in the bush!
At the end of the day, we shall not only replenish our bulliion reserves at the Bank of Zambia, but also create employment for the youth, and in the long run, improve our economy.
Do those in government even have time to read such things? Anyway, take time to share this treatise as much as possible until someone can finally hear our cry!
If you have any suggestions on which ministry we should tackle next, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Share with us your frustrations with certain Ministers or their Ministries. This is the only way we can help the President deliver according to the expectations of our people.
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
Zambezi
Energy Minister should be next, followed by Lands and Health. For the latter, we would like to know why political leadership is still shunning our medical facilities and instead opting for treatment abroad!
Knowing HH, he has set his sight on a buyer. Leave the minister out of it Auntie Bill. Lives were lost at the mine at the hands of police who act in the name of the President. It is, as they say, the buck stops with the President.
Thank you also include fuel shortage Loaddshedding despite all the hype abour solar and soon to come to light the bumper harvest that is’t quite so
Three lives were lost and not the 15 to paint as gustly picture were killed.
The mines minister alluded to using the army on the Chingola unregistered miners. True to his words, he unleashed brutal fruit force in mufumbwe. What did they expect from the raw method used to secure the NWP mine? They were ready to shed not only electricity, but ichor.
Do the locals hate government so much that they would rather paint 15 than 2? Spinned, not spun, narratives don’t change the reality on the ground. Life lost will never excuse the upnd.
Ati This is the only way we can help the President deliver .
One can see this Kapinga only wants to bootlick the president. In a democracy, Dont you want to help the ministers perform?
Well espoused Prince. Areas such as Mwinilunga, Mongu, Mufumbwe and Mpika are gold mining hot spots. They should be incorporated into the economy. They can contribute immensely to bolstering the value of the Kwacha. Over the years, I’ve written to:
Ministry of mines
Ministry of finance
Bank of Zambia, and
Zanaco Bank
……To no avail. 16 years of hands-on Zambian mining experience is at their disposal for free. Home-grown technology like using disused car tyres to make spirals for collecting the gold. Allowing wives to scavenge the tailings on the grounds that they sell half of the gold to the respective mine
Currently, only 35% of the gold dug out of the ground by Zambian artisanal miners, is recovered for sale. The world’s norm is 55%. At today’s gold price, Zambia should be making a killing from gold. A few years ago, I postulated that gold mining can bring in more money to the exchequer than copper and cobalt ever would!