A mining expert has warned government to desist from allowing politicians or politically connected persons with vested and usually short term interests to undertake negotiations for the big deals with large mining companies to guard the country’s long term majority interests.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times –ZBT, Mining expert Edward Simukonda said he find the act very dangerous as most of the politicians that seat on the boards have totally no clue on what is happening in the mining sector and usually focus on extracting personal or political party interests.
Simukonda has since advised that it is best for government to have a team of technocrats, mining Engineers, geologist, mineralogist etc. and only allow one or two politicians to be part of the team to negotiate the deals.
The Mining expert said having a team of technocrats is better as these are the people who understand the business and know exactly what to do. He added that having a team of independent technocrats will ensure that the mining industry grows in the country.
The Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe recently said government could not avoid but speculate that the deal between Mopani Copper Mines and Glencore was made in bad faith because it has left the mining giant choking. Kabuswe said Zambia was concerned about Glencore’s damaged reputation and would therefore probe its deal with Mopani.
The Copperbelt Province remains subdued after the two major mining firms – Mopani Copper Mines and Konkola Copper Mines have not been adequately recapitalized to meet their financial operational requirements. No short to medium term operational optimization plans have been put in place to at least boost production in the near term.
Mopani needs about $300 million but parent company ZCCM IH has not come through to fully recapitalize the mine and enable the local management team prove or otherwise that they can run the mine profitably without bringing in an equity partner. The option of sourcing equity from Zambians via Lusaka Securities Exchange – LuSE has not even come up for unknown reasons.
