Africa-Press – Zambia. Former Commerce minister Bob Sichinga says he does not see any national interest in President Hakainde Hichilema’s government as they would rather see a situation where the country is constantly losing money to the multinationals
Speaking to Daily Revelation, Sichinga urged those in the UPND administration to travel to Botswana to learn how that country has put national interest ahead bysignificantly raising the government’s stake in their natural resources.
He said they were looking for investors yet there was ZCCM-IH which can be used as a channel of investment in the mines.
He said the government claimed ZCCM-IH could not do so because they are losing money, but wondered how that could be when their share partners were making huge profits.
“So we are going backwards because all these issues, we have been through them,” Sichinga said. “It is in our own interest to do the value addition ourselves … What we need are value chains which use copper, cobalt, lithium, Nicol, sugilite, all these minerals, semi-precious stones should not be exported in role form. And the example of Botswana is very illustrative. What has Botswana done? They have moved from 15 percent to 50 percent shareholding. Why can’t Zambia go to Botswana and learn what Botswana has done.”
He said they do not want to do that because they prefer this particular situation where the country is constantly losing money and the currency of the country being devalued.
“So yes we are moving backwards, we are not moving forwards. Instead of developing industries that exploit the copper we have, instead of earning the shares which produce the copper we need they are letting this go to other people,” Sichinga said. “And you ask the question where is their national interest.
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