Vedanta Resources Plc, the owners of Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) have dispelled rumours that the company had been reporting false profits and losses to the Zambian Government and externalising its profits.
Speaking at a press briefing after holding a closed door meeting with Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda, Vendanta Resources chairperson Tom Albanese, who is currently in the country for a working visit, acknowledged that despite making profits, there was a challenge of operational costs and that this consumed much of the profit being recorded.
Mr Albanese said in the last nine years, Vedanta had invested US$ 2.3 billion in KCM.
Last week, Foil Vedanta, a London based international solidarity group focusing on the activities of British mining company Vedanta, released a report in which they said that Vedanta made approximately $362 million, or 12.9% of their total group revenue, from KCM in 2013, according to the company itself and analyst reports.
The authors of the report , who visited Zambia in December, noted the number of misconceptions about this company in Zambia – where Vedanta has created the perception that they are an Indian company, and are making such a loss at KCM that they may need to be rescued by the state. In fact KCM are one of the highest profit making subsidiaries of the parent company.
Meanwhile,Government and Vedanta Resources Plc have amicably resolved all differences surrounding the retention of workers at the mining giant.
Last year, KCM threatened to cut down on its workforce citing operational challenges, the action which threatened to sour ties with Government.
The two parties agreed on the need to reduce the number of workers being employed as causal employees as well as engaging them on contractual basis.
Mr Shamenda expressed gratitude that the outstanding matters concerning workers had been resolved and that there would not be a repeat of the challenges as experienced in 2012 and 2013.
Mr Shamenda said that Zambia was the right destination for Vendanta Resources to invest in and that equally the international company was important to Zambia’s growth.
“We have both agreed and recognised that human capital is the most important investment in a business and we have declared that there shall be not industrial unrest at the mining company this year,” Mr Shamenda said.
He said a renewed partnership would be beneficial to both Government and KCM, which was also good for business.
“With new management at Vedanta and PF being new in power, we have agreed to bring on table the new approach to business to have a win, win situation as we burry all our past differences and looking forward to cordial working relations, “he said.
the people in govt are semi-illiterates so they agree to anything they are told by the technocrats in these companies. if they were at least wise they should have been consulting the saasa’s but alas, inferiority complex got the best of them
Folks,
Sata is not in the UK. He must be still in India. I have made extensive enquiries about his sightings, but even my friends close to the high commissioner are saying they know nothing or he is not here yet.
I wish him quick recovery and long life so he can account for his actions since he took over running the country.
EVEN THOUGH A MINE IN THE NATION PARK MIGHT BE AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER TO NATURAL RESOURCES- WHAT IS A LESSER EVIL IN TERMS OF PROVIDING EMPLOYMENT TO THE COUNTRY AND REVENUES- A NATIONAL PARK OR OPEN PIT MINE? OR SORRY, I SORRY- FORGOT THAT THIS COMPANY WONT PAY TAX SINCE IT IS REGISTERED IN BERMUDA.
På svenska säger vi Shamenda du är dum!! this is seems to be the standard for PF, mandevu Shamenda just was saying yes bwana yes bwana in the meeting because the other guys is white..
where is kambwili when you need him most to throw tatrums, threaten colonialists and shake their pockets??
God!, you invest US$ 2.3 billion and your revenue in just one year is $362 million. And this was a bad year for copper mines. Roughly payback period using the figures for the bad year is 6.3 years.
Folks
Mangani is slowly ditching the PF and campaigning for UPND in Eastern province(source today’s pastpaper.)
Knowing Mmembe it might not be true, but just a ploy to scandalise Mangani so he is hounded out of the party as he is one of Mmembe’s sworm enemies from the time he help influential posts in MMD.
So Mr Shamenda how many % have u increased in order to have more more
CK- CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI U ARE THE NEXT MP 4 NCHANGA CONST NO MOOOORE UMUTONGA-ALIFILWA ICHITOOOOO.
The least you can do is spell the your name correctly. You must be Bemba to actually type like this.
What this man is saying falls into the category of Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. A diversion or distraction to keep people from seeing the truth.
Sorry, mate – no can believe. Better luck next time
You seem to have lived in the UK for some time mate. Loving it.
How can a sports minister tok abt roads in CHINGOLA nishi these guys hav failed CK go ahead & tel them they dont kno y they are in those offices
All business houses lie about profits.Next….
Especially if they get helped by Mahtani.
Is he not the one that made Switzerland the biggest consumer of copper in the whole world???!!!
These guys it is better they just go and find other decent investers . who can trust them it is better they don’t continue to abuse our economy
“Stealing Africa” search it on YouTube and Zambia is featured. The doc is about how the GRZ has been duped of billions of $$$$$ in ‘short pricing’ in that the mining companies in zambia sell copper to their subsidiaries unbeknown to GRZ. The subsidiaries buy at cheap prices therefore the mining companies report losses on paper but in reality they are one and the same with the subsidiaries when they sell our copper on the London metal exchange with no more part for GRZ to play or gain. That’s when they make the billions out of our disunity and politics of just talking and doing nothing. Copper is our lifeblood, our heritage, our bread and butter in short. The sad thing is; it’s a diminishing ore! Copper will eventually run out of Zambia unless you dig up all your game parks to no…
Zambia was sold on the cheap by Late President FTJ MHSRIEP. The price we paid for democracy! Safe guard this democracy with both your hands. You were divided during the scramble for Africa because disunity is your greatest weakness. You do not have an external catalyst to bring back divide & rule but you bring it back on yourselves by being tribal. What a people! You know why America is the United States? They are all Americans and they can live anywhere they like in the states. We are all Zambians and we can live anywhere within our great country. Faint hearted will cry watch “Stealing Africa” It would remind you of “12 years a slave” for those that have seen it only in our country many have been savaged by the acts of these investors whilst you talk about tribes! How primitive?
In most discussions I have engaged in with my friends and acquaintances of colour in all over Europe, most refuse to accept the word tribe and for them it has very serious racist & enslaving connotations. Going by the discussions seen here of race & tribe I wholly agree with my friends who have taken time to invest and study these trends at a higher academic level and in their field of work as subject matter experts (SMEs)
Governments can either unite or break people up. There are three main difficult jobs in the world: 1.English Prime minister 2. England football manager 3. Zambian President.
why?
In 1. The feat is too much (difficult to match the past great)
In 2. No talent to tap from and last won when they brought about the offside rule & they new how to beat it as pioneers
In 3. We are still tribal (primitive) and do not want to put the country first but ourselves starting from our leaders. The internet is the greatest leveller of the 21st century. Use it to enlighten yourselves in very good subject matters that bring positive change to our thinking and doing things. We have the last of our dinosaur leaders and the next will be young, computer literate who will form think tanks from ordinary Zambian as key stakeholders to run developmental projects. Empower youth to learn these undertakings from the investors and tie them in with banks to run their own industries and create employment for others. If you have ever been to Mazabuka you will notice that the sugar company has never done anything for that town/village. No spoon..fimo fimo …
God bless…
Matipa you mean you are better than any one in govt, that is nonsence are you the only one who is educated!
So how much did you donate to PF account in that closed meeting with old man Shamenda?
Shamenda uletina umusungu,kano ukutuka HH. Ulichipuba sana.
2016 kuya bebele.
Lesa obe musungu, we chipuba.
Maureen and Mahtani shall be made to account for $50 million they were bribed by Vedanta to takeover the mine at a ridiculous $25 million. The middleman made more money than GRZ.
Dig deeper.
@Wanzelu u own Zambia Galu watchers? Please go for your BP check ups before you rupture a blood vessel in the brain (stroke) or heart (heart attack). He is still your president and the other one may never be!
Good evening
Never mind what the investor says, he should be listening to Zambians who are the owners of the copper and therefore his senior partners and not the other way around.
We are more interested in what is meant by “a new approach to business to have a win-win situation”. There is so much outflow of copper going out of the country and too little returns for the country at the moment. This is why we need a Sovereign Wealth Fund to be put in place. Touch our copper, let the FULL VALUE ring into our SWF presto!
Give us not less than 50% shares because our copper you’re after is of much more value than that US$ 2.3 billion you brought. Feed the hen that lays the golden egg! Tom Albanese knows very well what that means.
I can’t understand it: profit comes after considering operational and other expenses from sales. Profit is profit and it need be considered so.
He was speaking the language shamenda can understand
Exactly!!!
Input(which also includes operational costs,among other costs)-Output=Profit or Loss.
So profit is profit.How dare he say despite making profits there was a challenge of operational costs which consumed much of the profit being recorded!!!What does he take us for???
50 years after independence , you mean the government does still have capacity to invest in the mines?
Our government on its own can not manage to bring about a win win situation concerning copper proceeds. These multinational companies are so powerful they can bring down any democratically elected African government. Its up to us the citizenry to help our government by giving it power to negotiate and sign proper agreements by not misdirecting our energies fighting each other on trivial matters. The copper belongs to us but only if we can take out of the ground.
‘ the copper is ours but only if we can take it out of ground(mine it our selves).’
@ 16 – One of the MOST sensible, objective, & realistic statements contributed by a blogger on this forum, regarding this burning issue.
WHAT YOU HAVE JUST POSTED IS REALLY HOW THE “EVIL POWERFUL” WORK.
Keep it up Countryman!
Nine Chale , you meant the hen that lays copper eggs?
You could also see it that way: experts predict that copper has the potential to replace gold as the world’s most-valuable metal. We would do well to learn from the ants and reserve some thousands of tons in copper stockpiles for ourselves instead of leaving it all up to foreign investors.
Useless Minister. The issue on the table is the wrong disclosure of profits and externalised money. This minister chooses to ignore that and goes to discuss whether his son still has his job as a casual labourer. Vedanta has been known to be an Indian company owned by the Agarwal dynasty, but now we learn that it is actually UK based, this is something that needs investigating. The country could have been taken for a ride and no one seems to know the truth. I will research this and did up some truth, yes minister, RESEARCH, in case government vocabulary is lacking.
KC and Ben, you are so right. Mahtani is the tumor that brought Cancerous Vedanta to Zambia at $50 million kickback shared by Maureen Mwanawasa and Mahtani, parked in Swiss Banks.
TWO DANGEROUS GUYS WORRY OR CONCERN ME ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD.
1. THE BUSINESSMAN
2. THE POLITICIAN
AND WHEN THEY WORK TOGETHER TO EXPLOIT ME AND THE REST THEN …OOPS.
So Maureen was in the thick of things.Am sure we shall soon hear more underground dealings.
The issue which the minister and government needs to zero in on is the false declarations by the KCM as well as the true owners of the mine.
What load of bull-s.h.i.t is this from VEDANTA..!! HOW CAN OUR MINISTERS ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE MADE FOOLS IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE WORLD LIKE THIS…!!! Honestly, WHEN does any company declare PROFITS? Is it BEFORE or AFTER subtracting COSTS from total revenue earned from business transactions??? Shamenda and his fellow illiterate ministers dealing with the mines industry must wake up from their incorrigible gross illiteracy and incompetence or be fired by the President. How can we entrust management of the nation’s largest natural resource to a group of criminally dull ministers like these guys. Someone tells you that VEDANTA made massive profits but they have been eaten up high costs and you agree!! How can Vedanta talk about profits if they haven’t deducted the costs..? S.t.u.p.i.d.
What load of bull-s.h.i.t is this from VEDANTA..!! HOW CAN OUR MINISTERS ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE MADE FOOLS IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE WORLD LIKE THIS…!!! Honestly, WHEN does any company declare PROFITS? Is it BEFORE or AFTER subtracting COSTS from total revenue earned from business transactions??? Shamenda and his fellow illiterate ministers dealing with the mines industry must wake up from their incorrigible gross illiteracy and incompetence or be fired by the President. How can we entrust management of the nation’s largest natural resource to a group of criminally dull ministers like these guys. Someone tells you that VEDANTA made massive profits but they have been eaten up high costs and you agree!! How can Vedanta talk about profits if they haven’t deducted the costs..? S.t.u.p.i.d.
Zambians always want foreigners to invest in the their country, but then they will scream if the profit is externalised. Why the hell should not an investing company make a profit and take their profit to their home???? What kind of illiterate and beggers’ thinking is this that Zambia will always receiving donation. Why should a foreign investor invest money in Zambia and make a loss by giving away alms and then whatever little profit they make they should not take it to their home? Why????
This mind set set of receiving donation in the form of investment is stopping our own entreprenuers from developing. We are a whole nation of delinquent children, who always expect others to take care of us. We are busy mentioning KCM profit, as if its a crime to make a profit. We are just…