The National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) has supported calls by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for government to increase the mineral royalties and corporate taxes in order to increase its revenue.
Commenting on IMF’s calls that government should increased mineral royalties and corporate taxes to enhance the country’s revenue, NUMAW president Mundia Sikufele said the current mineral taxes collections were not sufficient enough for country to benefit from.
Mr. Sikufele told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that there was need for the government to quickly revise taxes in order for the people in the mining sector to have an opportunity to benefit from the country’s mineral resources.
He noted that since most of Zambian citizens were in the informal sector, there was need to increase mineral royalties for government to have more revenue.
He explained that by increasing the mineral royalties, people in the mining sector will also be given a chance to contribute to the economic growth of the country through paying other taxes.
Meanwhile the Private Sector Development Association (PSDA) has advised government to treat mineral taxes like any other business taxes in the country.
PSDA Chairperson, Yusuf Dodia, said in a separate interview that government should consider keeping the mine taxes constant at all times if it is to expand its revenue collection base.
Mr. Dodia said there no need for government to change the taxes whenever copper prices fluctuate on the international market.
He said government should ensure that taxes were maintained in a concession manner and not to make them exorbitant.
He pointed out that the reason why government has failed to make meaningful gains from the mine taxes was due to lack of having permanent corporate mineral taxes for the mining sector.
Mr. Dodia further challenged investors in the mining sector to take advantage of rising copper prices on the international market and make significant contributions to the development of the sector and the country as a whole.
ZANIS
The choices that I.M.F. offer are very simple:
Work with the I.M.F. and get wiped out!Don’t work with the I.M.F. and be destroyed!
Therefore,the choice is–be wiped out or destroyed
Should we always wait for the IMF to say something. Cant we think for ourselves. What has NUMAW been doing all this time. And is the govt so incompetent that they cant even think like the IMF is thinking? It’s ashame that we have all these mineral resources and yet we are not benefiting from it.
Why is it that we fail to manage ourselves and our resources. Is it a lack of brains? Is it lack of ability? Just why are we in this state?
Yes, increase the royalties but make sure the money does not dissapear into a few selfish mouths. Let it trickle down to the masses – because the people of Zambia are the rightful owners of the mines and legitimate beneficiaries of the same.
I’d rather let them Chinese get all the profit than just them MMD f.ool.s who waste the little that we even get.
Mining royalties does not mean anything if the benefits are not seen.
Let there be accountability in the little $$$$ we get first and thats when we must start talking about greater mining royalties or even nationalization……
Fcuk mmd!
atase, LT ! i meant to say F.C.U K M M D
Hahaaaa
You know neoliberal economic theory has failed when even the IMF is abandoning the Washington Concensus – but not the MMD (or the MDC). They literally need to be told to tax ‘their friends’ in the mining sector.
Also, the mines are a special sector of the Zambian economy, and should be taxed much more heavily than any other.
zccm-ih holds a average of 20 % in all the mines but receive only little dividends.
For the last 3 years the total benefits for these mines was 3 billions of US$ but zccm received only 4.8 M$ while nearly $ 700 million could be paid to ZCCM !
The GRZ have to push First quantum minerals, Vedanta, to give dividends to zccm
First quantum minerals and Vedanta are not a good partner for zambia !
Why no comment about this situation to the parliement ?
Why no comment about this situation from GRZ ?
Why no comment about this situation from ZCCM-IH ??
it’s incredible !
Zambia will never be rich with such behavior !
I think the Unionists’ priorities are completely misplaced. As a miner myself, I expected you to first of all fight for my pay rise which mining companies managements have denied their workers this year citing economic crunch. Before you can talk of that tax business, i want to tell you that I’ve never gone for a full one year without a pay rise, ever since I joined the mines in 1990. This is unprecedented. Sikufele and your friends it’s tym you commented on issues that concern the pipo who pay for your bread and butter than issues outside your domain. WE NEED A PAY RISE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
#8 Michael
Dividend payouts are always fair. Those who have more shares earm more money. If you had 10 shares in the mines, a person with 15 shares will get more, assuming yourrshares have similar value.
Secondly look at the share structure to understand why zccm-hi allegedly earns so. It’s impossible to dupe shareholders in the manner you suggest. They get what they signed up for.
I suspect the $3bn was turn over. Are you sure it was money paid out to shareholders as dividends? Dividends come from profit, which in mining sector is always so much smaller than turnover as production costs are high. You may need to look again at their financial reports.
UK-Zed Observer says
if you read the annual reports from First QUantum Minerals you can see on the table the total Minority interest for KANSANSHI MINING, If you take the total for the last 3 years.. The total is 310 M US$
The MINORITY Interest is the benefit after amortization for the others shareholders in kansanshi mining..
There is only one shareholder with first quantum minerals.. ZCCM-IH…
In august, KANSANSHI Mining gave the first dividend to ZCCM-IH.. only 3 M US$…
3 M US$ for 310 M US$ part for zccm-ih !! scandalous not else !
In the same time, First Quantum Minerals rent this money (zccm-ih money) for 0%.. with this money FQM developp its business in others country… and zccm have no money to guive to maamba colleries, Ndola lime,etc..
in the same time…