Mining Expert has warned that Zambia will hardly see meaningful development from Konkola Copper Mines – KCM especially that the mine is handed back to Vedanta Resources Limited.
Mining expert Edward Simukonda said Zambia will hardly see meaningful development in the country because Vedanta has so much debt most of the money generated in Zambia will be going to solve the liability when they remain the major shareholders of KCM. The shareholding structure in KCM is 80% Vedanta resources (VR) and 20% ZCCM-IH.
This follows Government’s announcement that only one of the ten important issues remains to be resolved before an agreement could be reached with KCM’s Majority shareholders Vedanta Resources to take over the asset.
Konkola Copper Mines was placed under provisional liquidation in 2019 after the previous Zambian government confirmed that the Vedanta had lied about expansion plans and paid too little tax.
Simukonda however said the recent announcements that the asset will be handed over to Vedanta resources is a mockery to the country especially when Government is fully aware of the bad record the Company have in Zambia.
“Am extremely disappointed in the sense that everyone knows the problem that Vedanta is going through and everyone knows what the country has gone through with Vedanta. So what is going to happen is that all the efforts that the Zambians are going to put in to produce the copper will be helping Vedanta to solve its debt problems.”
“Apart from getting the mine Vedanta misused the nation by failing to declare proper taxes and failing to do other statutory things that have been stipulated by the law but we still go back to them which is very unfortunate. I know they were holding the majority stake in the mine but we could have come up with some kind of a concession to say we take over that mine completely.” Remarked Simukonda.
He added that, “However whatever agreement that have been signed the 20 percent stake that we own should have been adjusted when bringing them back and pushed to 50 percent or more so that the country can be a majority shareholder in it compared to the 20 percent which is currently at hand.”
Simukonda said the 20 percent shareholding is a very disappointing and then I expected government to react otherwise because who does not know the problems Vedanta is facing they owe money all over the show.
“We are just a bunch of people that countries around the world are laughing because we are giving a broke guy millions to help him pay back his debt so like I said we are not going to see any meaningful development because what is going to happen is that Vedanta is going to be sorting out its problems using Zambia.”
According to the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe, it is anticipated that the asset will be handed over to Vedanta within July 2023 after one of the 10 key issues raised by the Government have been addressed.
Members of the Public, are however eagerly waiting to see details of the ten issues Government had raised in its roundtables discussion with the Indian investor “Vedanta resources” before it commences operations at KCM.
