Africa-Press – Zambia. I don’t believe a word written in these unsolicited pledges being made by VEDANTA in this enticing leaked letter widely being circulated on social-media.
With VEDANTA Resources, we have been here before. Since 2003,we have heard their investment pledges before that usually never materialized and if they did, they were usually too little to late.
The model of Corporate Social Responsibility touted as paying back to communities is but mere token. It has been demonstrated again and again, that Government loses more money in transfer-pricing, and tax-cheating schemes that corporates and mine houses engage in that countries never benefit from their own natural resources.
A UK study recently showed that Government loses upto $1billion a year because of these schemes. I understand matters related to KCM have been locked up in court. That’s not the best place for a national asset like KCM.
The New Dawn Governmnet is in an enviable position. Former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu did the heavy-lifting for them. MOPANI and Konkola Copper Mines assets now belong to Goverment.
With Copper prices trending at the highest level in fifty years and rising, Goverment may not need a dishonest equity partner. Infact, if Governmnet handled just these two assets well, It may not need an IMF bail out package (although Goverment says it needs the IMF package for our foreign debt treatment). Let ZCCM-IH assemble the best mining experts and run the two entities for the benefit of our country.
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