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Lawmakers urge EU to halt funding Mopani
Fri 27 May 2011, 07:00 CAT [27 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]
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FIFTY members of the European Parliament have called for a halt on EU public
financing for mining projects like Mopani Copper Mines until adequate standards
and regulations are in place.
They said there was need for strong standards on mining firms to ensure
communities where they operated benefitted from their resources.
The lawmakers were drawn from four different political parties including
Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, European United Left–Nordic
Green Left, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and the
Greens–European Free Alliance.
“The added value of mining projects for development is highly debatable,” said
Thijs Berman (S&D) who presented the letter in the European Parliament last
Tuesday. “Due to favourable tax regimes, low labour standards and a significant
environmental impact, it is rarely the hosting country or its population
benefiting from these mining projects.
It is rather the international mining companies that make the profit and I don’t see why they would need public financial support for that. At least not until standards and regulations are in place, that can guarantee a positive outcome for those who need it: poor countries and their population.”
The letter refers to previous successful processes in other sectors such as the
World Commission on Dams or the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review as
worth following.
Recently, a consortium of Zambian and European-based NGOs petitioned EU to halt
funding to Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) after a pilot audit revealed glaring
irregularities and inconsistency in production and revenue figures that it
submitted to Zambia Revenue Authority for tax administration, most of which
hinge on its links to Glencore AG.
MCM had also been accused of polluting Mufulira by releasing sulphur emissions
from its heavy emission copper smelter beyond international standards.
According to the European Parliamentarians, their initiative came as a result of
gross pollution by Mopani, a consortium that is mining copper and cobalt in
Kitwe and Mufulira.
And Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) director Savior Mwamba said
by financially supporting companies like MCM, the European Investment Bank was
doing more harm than good.
“These companies bring little social or economic benefits to our country. To the
contrary, they are depriving the people of Zambia of their right to social and
economic benefit,” said Mwamba.