A Bishop and Overseer at the Life Giving Word Ministries of Chingola has charged that those that are opposing the return of Vedanta are misinformed, or do not know what is on the ground or have been paid, that is why they can’t make informed decisions.
The Bishop accused those that are opposed to the return of Vedanta of being oiled or bribed as this view is mainly peddled by the opposition voices to the ruling UPND government. The return of Vedanta has been controversial and the option of Zambians running the mine through ZCCM IH seem to have been abandoned by the new board led by Dolika Banda.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Bishop Ellison Bwalya said that there are some people that he cannot disclose who are also calling for the return of Vedanta.
The Chingola Bishop said he has spoken to a number of people on the matter and a lot of members of the general public are scared to come out in the open and back the return of Vedanta because they are under oath and fear losing their Jobs.
An Church Overseer Stated that the community of Chingola are the ones who should be consulted and their views taken on board. Most Chingola residents would be in a better position if they had Vedanta back to take over the operations of KCM.
Bishop Bwalya said the court process is taking too long for Konkola Copper Mine – KCM to reopen which has affected the business and social environment in Chingola and the country at large. The overseer who also intends to supply clothes to KCM employees once fully operational told ZBT that business is not picking up as there are no supply jobs being given to local businesses.
He has since challenged the new dawn government to bring back Vedanta as soon as possible adding that ignoring Vedanta will be costly as it may take long for the court processes to get concluded and arrive at judgement that would be equitable for key stakeholders. He said the country losing out now that the copper prices are at the all time high.
“The sooner the new dawn government bring in Vedanta the better as most the communities in Chingola are suffering. There are also people accusing those that are behind calls for the return of Vedanta of having been oiled (bribed) by the government or Vedanta, but what about those that are opposing, have they also been paid by the opposition? Or other sponsors? Bishop Bwalya questioned.
Vedanta has been heavily opposed following its chairman demeaning remarks against Zambia’s leaders who were said to have been duped into selling the mine at giveaway prices. Moreover, Vedanta had a terrible reputation with delayed payments to local suppliers and contractors. The Zambian government and tax authorities also accused the company of not paying adequate taxes and reporting perpetual loses to lower their tax liabilities.
