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Government to invest Lumwana earnings in other mines
By Gift Chanda and Moses Kuwema
Wed 08 June 2011, 17:20 CAT [306 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]
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THE government plans to invest money it will earn from the sale of its stake in
Lumwana in other mining projects, says finance minister Dr Situmbeko
Musokotwane.
Dr Musokotwake (right) said the government would consider upcoming and the
already stock-listed mining companies for investment.
“We can look at First Quantum which is already listed, KCM which also has plans
of listing and all the upcoming mines. These all present an opportunity for us,”
Dr Musokotwane said in an interview.
“The ideal thing is to get this money to be reinvested. Buy new shares in a
mining company…that is our preference.”
He said the government was trying to raise its investment portfolio in ZCCM-IH.
Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) agreed to
sell 2.28 per cent stake in Equinox, which it holds on behalf of the government,
as part of the unconditional approval for Barrick’s C$7.3 billion (US$7.5
billion) takeover of the company and the copper producer’s Lumwana mine.
“What we are trying to do is to have the investment portfolio for ZCCM-HI keep
on improving…not necessarily them running the mine but them buying shareholding
in the mining companies,” Dr Musokotwane said.
He, however, did not say how soon the government would make the investments.
“ZCCM-HI made the investment but as a major stakeholder we have a say and soon
we will come up with something,” he said.
Dr Musokotwane further said the money from the sale would also be used to settle
ZCCM-HI’s debt.
Meanwhile, the North-Western Province council of Elders said the sale of
government shares in Lumwana may affect the popularity of the MMD in Solwezi.
Lucas Chikoti said people in the area were not happy with the government’s move.
“We are giving away our birth rights and we want to urge the government not to
go ahead with this move, as custodians of the land we are supposed to have
shares in these mines so that we get something from it, I have been receiving
phone calls from different people who hail from here and they are saying they
have been cheated for long and they want a fair share of what is being mined,”
he said.
Chikoti said the province would be denied of the income from the mines because
currently the government was not getting enough tax from the mines.
“We can't accept this to happen, the government should make changes because at
the moment people are not seeing the development that these mines were putting
up. The mine compound has no water, electricity and there is no sign that there
is a mine there,” said Chikoti.
Jeu 9 Juin 2011 10:54 
