Africa-Press – Zambia. The opposition Patriotic Front has bemoaned the declining fortunes in the mining sector on the Copperbelt. This follows the government’s position that investing in Mopani, a mining giant which needs $300 million is not a priority.
Addressing the media yesterday in the company of other lawmakers, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Hon Brian Mundubile charged that government will do anything to ensure that they don’t invest in mines to push a narrative that Zambians can’t run mines. Hon Mundubile said an investment of $300 million into the mining giant would transform the lives of the people on the Copperbelt.
“The casing point is Mopani which requires an investment of $300 million. With that investment, jobs will be saved, and contractors on the Copperbelt will have to work on the mines. You would love to know that the economy on the Copperbelt is a cash economy, you have to have the money. The source of that money is actually the mines,” he said.
He lamented that people on the Copperbelt are going through unspeakable misery. “Government said investing in Mopani is not a priority. This is very shocking to us because we know that investing $3 million in Mopani was going to resolve a number of issues on the Copperbelt.” Meanwhile, Mundubile challenged the government to tell citizens what alternative measures they have if the said investment is not a priority.
“If investing in Mopani is not a priority, certainly, elevating the challenges people are facing on the Copper belt is a Priority to the government. So if the government has other means of resolving the declining economic fortunes on the Copperbelt, let them inform the people on the Copperbelt and the nation what those measures will be,” he said.
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