Youths from the ruling PF are demanding that Vendetta Resources, the majority owners of Konkola Copper Mines surrender the mine to the Zambian government if it has failed to manage it.
The youths have also accused KCM management of pushing an agenda against the interest of the government of the day.
The comments follows revelations by KCM that it plans to cut labour and retrench 2,000 of its over 8,000 labour force.
PF National vice Youth Coordinator Kennedy Kamba said the intentions by KCM to fire 2,000 of its workforce are unjustified.
Mr. Kamba said the PF will stand by miners on the Copperbelt because they greatly contributed to the party’s ascension to power.
“KCM cannot stand today and say they are retrenching workers because copper prices have dropped. During the ZCCM days, copper prices dropped to 2,000 dollars per metric tonne but ZCC kept over 20,000 miners on their jobs.”
“We are telling them not to play games with people’s lives and we challenge them to hand back the mines to Zambians through the Zambian government. We have capable men and women who can operate that mine far much better than they are doing now,” Mr. Kamba said.
And PF Copperbelt Vice Youth Chairman Menyani Zulu advised KCM to cut down on the number of expatriates at the mine in order to cut costs.
Mr. Zulu stated that KCM has too many expatriates mostly from India for jobs that could still be effectively undertaken by qualified Zambians.
“They have 20 Indians working there and earning salaries and allowances that can pay 300 Zambian miners. These Indians are doing jobs that can be handled by Zambians. Why do allow Artisans and Bricklayers from India? These are jobs for Zambians.”
He added, “We want KCM to cut some of its costs by firing some of those Indians and spreading the savings into protecting the local jobs.”
“The problem with KCM is that it has engaged bogus foreign suppliers and bogus foreign contractors. We are telling them to give us back the mine and we can run it better,” he said.
Ngabafilwa batupele mine yesu,Period!
Then everyone will be out of work, period.
1.1 Mukame – wantekunya. Very well said. At the moment it seems us Zambians we can’t manage ourselves.
In the history of humanity, since when did Indians ever run a successful mine?
fimo kwishiba, how do you give a mine to lazy indian pricks?
What was Mwanawasa thinking?
PF country or Zambian?
Ati KCM hand back the mines, if you have failed! ala,, so that you do what?,,you PF youths cant even afford a descent underpants for yourselves.. kupusa,,,this kind of PF extremism is dangerous!
Kekekek well said Ndobo!! So that they do what with it when all they know is to steal copper and make lots of noise
i agree with the youths position but donot bring in the zccm issue. zccm had excess labour to a point where labour costs were so high and unsustainable. so in your argument that example is is weak. just argue on the points given by KCM which are invalid so to say. if they decide to hand the mine to the GOVT, well and good but we shud not go the zccm way of continously recruting till we fail
But government will always use parastatal organisations to boost employment, even when it is not profitable to do so. If KCM do not need these 2000 staff, let them get rid of them. After all PF claims to be creating a lot of new employment. Remember what happened when Anglo-American Corporation left. The government could not run the mine. We just need to accept that the party is over. Things may get better in the future. But it is time to keep cool heads and allow the union and the company to hold serious talks.
Look at the history of Indians they’ve tried in luanshya under binani and ram coz they clearly failed and left luanshya to be a ghost town!! After they left. Under Anglo America KCM they did a great job in fact bosses there were zambian Ben Chileshe the late, Sophie etc now we just have chicken curry eating Pricks exercising greed amongst themselves look at mopani the two key big bosses are Zambian mutati and chilangwa, mopani has been stable ever since they came to the scene all they do is expand and improving there CSR ba kalampa are number one in the league, I can’t even remember the last time diggers lost!
Ba youth ba PF take it easy, do you know what it takes to run the mines? KCM is not kantemba uhn uhn.
Where is my posting?
we deleted it cos it was rubbish hehehehehe!
reposess the mine my lovely PF.Chalo chesu and more over we have anglo america who can revive this mine to its world class status.Suppliers are slo not being paid.shame
danderheads are not in short supply zoona. ati anglo american.
my friend just the other year , not even 5 years ago, the anglo american you are talking about abandoned these mines for lack of profitability and it had to take the genius of RB to keep them opened. ati anglo american. brainwashed!!
@ Web Man get your facts right my friend Anglo America left way more than 5 years ago to be precise they left in 2002, what KCM is saying my fellow Zambians is correct, running costs for these mines keep going up every year, for KCM to continue there production they need the price of Diesel and Electricity stable and ultimately high copper prices, you should consider how much electricity and fuel has gone up in the past 8 years, this is the real story lads how ever difficult it is.
Its like the issue of subsidies it is unsustainable same goes for the labour force KCM has with the current production costs.
Better we let go of 2000 than the whole mine closing down, which will affect the whole lot plus an extra 12 000 contractors and suppliers. think about it lads.
Anglo American have ditched Konkola mine before. Why do you believe they want to come back?
Anglo ran away less than two years after they bought KCM! … and you want to go crying to them to come back… With this level of thinking, its small wonder these kaponya’s who cant even run the smallest chicken run in the world think they know better!
Hahahahahahaha.continue dreamin indians won’t give you back the mine,by the way where is your outspoken sata.why has he gone mute
The outspoken Sata died and was burried a long time ago. Please confirm the exact dates and circumstances with Fr. Bwalya.
dreaming youth this is not freedom fight but free market mambala hand back the mine to who ***** can run amine yourself do you know where copper is sold from I mean the market place. You want nationalism of mines also can run them profitably
Wish it was that easy my dear youths.Running a mine is not as easy as running a car wash company outside shoprite,It is my hope that a solution is found.I`m waiting for the other side of the story from the government before making an informed opinion on this isssue.So far i have heard the side from kCM which is making sense to me at the moment.I can imagine the panic in the workers at KCM during this period.
hahahah
Its seems ECONOMICS is an alien language in PF. Welcome to the real world.
2016 copper prices projected at US$6000, KCM operating cost US$6200
You will all be retrenched
CHECK THE KIND OF JOBS BEING SUPERVISED BY THE CHINESE,YOU WILL BE SHOCKED.EVEN A GRADE 12 DROP OUT CAN HANDLE THAT.SHAME.
you guys that are agains foreign workers let me tell you one thing. Zambians can do the job except for one problem they are thieves period. I used to run a business and i had to stock take every day. When i got sick for a week i came back and US $15 000 was missing and this was in 2002 that was a lot of money in Zed at the time you could even buy a small house in Avondale with it. So Zambians we shoot ourselves in the foot.
Zedians are viciously against the Nigerians but now I know after being crooked by a Zedian that they are just jealous becoz ama Nigerians bakata apakulu and them, Zedians, steal very little and do nothing with the loot. MaZedians nabeve nakawalala.
In Australia some mines have laid off all employees (at least one Zambian was affected I know for fact) and left mines at contracted out care and maintenance only. They plan to start operating once the prices improve. On the other hand, these mines in Zambia are top heavy in both number and salary. Laying off some of top management staff will have greater effect on costs than low end ones (bachibombebombe).
Is it possible not to trade through London Metal Exchange? UK has no mineral ore in its land and yet it controls the world’s ones. Close or cease to be a member of LME for starters and find your own customers copper producers please. Better still process the copper in Zambia, long term plan though.
have you ever heard of neo-colonialism?
Hmmm!but pa zed che….
Let them fire the indians and Spare the Zambians.
“Mr. Kamba said the PF will stand by miners on the Copperbelt because they greatly contributed to the party’s ascension to power”.
Firstly, looks like the PF chaps need a lawyer before they say anything in public. Zambians are not stupid and to issue statements all the time about helping those who voted PF is an insult to a tax paying Zambian. Secondly, it is not KCM’s fault that operating costs (variable and overhead costs) have increased and for the business to keep running, they have to sacrifice certain resources to keep it profitable and for other Zambians to still be employed. Thirdly, jobs which Zambians can do should not be given to foreigners, unless this was part of the agreement when the contract was signed between our government and these investors.
KCM management, the union and the ‘PF’ government should sit round the table to discuss this serious issue. It is a matter of educating all involved stakeholders what is at stake here if all resources have to be retained for the sake of pleasing those who assisted PF. I miss the Zambian government…
They would surely hand it back and not lose much since it only cost them $25 million of which part was advanced to them by the seller (GRZ). Profits from the first year of operation were more than enough to cover the purchase price. So all they’ve been making since then is change for the pocket.
Why don’t you start your own copper mine?
Can the government stop you firing a maid that you can no longer afford to pay?
Ba Pf youth are failing to run your district office in Ndola ,you think you can run a Mine when handed back to you?
Here starts nationalism. Good job PF youths. And what degrees do you have if any to run mines? As the saying goes, empty vessels make the most noise and this is what these younglings are doing making noise. Why did you the people not stand up when chiluba and gang were privatising things right left and center. Did you not realize copperbelt and the towns would be come ghost towns. Now they realize. You lot have not seen anything just wait its only going to get better.
Ba Nsamya abo, baya saana!
Even those of that are claiming to highly are fo.o.ls.Sadly there is no sense of shame. 50 years ,Unza and oder institutions ve bin educating u in relavant fields bt u can’t.U may even b more educated dan dese mine owners but ba swine no wisedom.
It is a case of ,”Ba kolwe balesekana ifipato”.All Zambians especially the educated ones are wrong .50yrs without producing business acumen that can run any businesses like mines?Shame upon us. Then wat is education 4 ?Or we only have pretenders?
KCM issue is a case study before a pipo that have sold their minds.They are empty in their heads hence those crookered lndians are taking advantage of them. l have so many questions about u Zambians.Some idi ots are even saying u cn’t find market
Ati hand back!! Bushe yaba wiso??