CEC denies being allocated 70% share of $250m Vedanta pledge for local creditors
The Copperbelt Energy Corporation – CEC has denied allegation that the company has secretly negotiated and been securely allocated a lions share of the $250 million pledge meant for local creditors by Vendata as it takes back Konkola Copper Mines – KCM.
Responding to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT enquiry, CEC Managing Director Owen Silavwe when asked to confirm if the re-instated and written back KCM debt to CEC of $172 million would be paid from the $250 million allocated to local creditors, Silavwe stated that “CEC is not privy to the [list of] beneficiaries of the $250 million intended for local suppliers”.
Allegations have arisen that CEC through its connected top government officials have secured the repayment of the company debt to be first written back and then prioritized to be paid off from the $250 million which Vedanta has pledged for local creditors upon tacking back management control.
The full details of the Government negotiating team and Vedanta deal remain scanty as calls continue to grow for full public disclosure and declassification of the contract. The deal to give KCM back to Vedanta remains a controversial decision as the transgressions of Vedanta are well documented and still fresh in the minds of Zambians.
Government has however assured the public that they have this time around done their homework and included a “deemed offer” clause were the Zambian authorities will have the option to take back the mine in an event of failure to meet set performance milestones.
It has however not been publicly disclosed which exact milestones have been included, the timelines for each milestone and who will be the arbiter in deciding on the performance of the deal milestones. Suffice to say, the deal which concerns public wealth remains secret.
On the expectation that CEC will take back and resume power supply to KCM, and if ZESCO who had taken over to directly supply power to KCM after an earlier dispute between them, the CEC Managing Director told ZBT that “currently, KCM has contractual arrangements with ZESCO, however, we [CEC] remain a committed partner in the energy sector to support the growth of our country at large.