Africa-Press – Zambia. On April 11, 2024, Mr Hakainde Hichilema led an entourage of Cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, and party officials to commission the lowering of de-watering pumps at CNMC’s Luanshya Copper Mines’ flooded Shaft 28.
At the event, Mr Hichilema and his league bragged that the Copperbelt was back in business now that the UPND administration had fixed Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), Vedanta’s Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) and CNMC’s Luanshya Copper Mines’ Shaft 28. They further claimed that the de-watering process of the water-logged Shaft 28 was a game changer, which will see the creation of over 3000 jobs and, in turn, recapitalise small businesses and enterprises in Luanshya district.
Like we have always said, we socialists are patriots who do not want to defeat Mr Hichilema and the UPND on the back of national failure. We remain committed to supporting any progressive idea and initiative that is intended to lift our people out of poverty, misery, and squalor. All we demand from Mr Hichilema and the UPND administration is transparency, honesty, and sincerity in dealing with important national issues that affect the lives of our people.
Let them be truthful and not excite or highly raise the people’s expectations unnecessarily, especially when they know very well that the undertaking won’t yield immediate results or is still far from culminating into the rosy picture they have painted for the people. The CNMC’s Luanshya Copper Mines water-logged Shaft 28 is a case in point. Mr Hichilema and the UPND administration have deliberately hidden the scope of work involved and the realistic timelines that will enable Shaft 28 to return to full production.
They’ve showed a picture to the people of Zambia and Luanshya in particular that the presently flooded Shaft 28 will come on line and commence production shortly, with over 3,000 direct mine jobs created, which will then result in an instant boost for businesses and the economy of Luanshya. This is a lie. It is not true that the recovery of Luanshya will unfold too quickly and soon. What do we mean by this?
To manage our people’s hopes and expectations with regards to Shaft 28 project, we will provide specifics and estimated timelines relating to the de-watering process and the actual commencement of copper mining. Below are the brief facts about this project:
– The US$500million de-watering project will result in the pumping out of millions of cubic meters of water from Shaft 14 and 18, which are aligned to Shaft 28.
– The de-watering process that is expected to begin at the end of this month [April 29, 2024] will take between 18 to 21 months to complete.
– CNMC Luanshya Copper Mine plans to start the recruitment of a limited number of workers in June or July this year to help in some tasks related to de-watering.
– Once the de-watering process is complete, an additional number of workers will be required to assist with reinforcement and other works in readiness for actual production or copper mining.
– The publicly announced 3,000 jobs [1,800 direct and 1,200 contractual jobs] will not happen anytime soon. These jobs are estimated to be created at the peak of the project when the mine is operating at the optimum level.
– And this is projected to materialise in about three to four years from today. To be specific, somewhere around the end of 2026 to 2027 or more. The truth is, yes, there is a projection of 3,000 jobs to be created, but this will not materialise today, tomorrow, or the day after but after a long period of time. Most probably when Mr Hichilema and the UPND administration are even out of office.
We have laid bare the specifics and estimated timelines of the Shaft 28 project to help our people understand the scope of work involved and how long it will take before they can see benefits. We believe this will assist in managing hopes and expectations. This is a decent way of dealing with people, especially in times when they’re desperate for survival. It is inhumane to deceive people in the manner Mr Hichilema and the UPND administration have been doing.
We urge this administration to learn to face the truth and guide our people accordingly and not raising their expectations unnecessarily. Governance cannot always be about deceit, lies, overstatements and exaggerations.
We know they’re stuck, and they’re under pressure to impress. But they should tell the people the truth and people will respect them.
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