First Quantum Minerals is soon expected to pay Government accrued tax arrears amounting to about US$224 million.
Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane
disclosed this in an interview with journalists shortly after opening
the Access Bank Economic Review and Trade Finance Seminar in Lusaka
today.
Dr. Musokotwane said Government has been collecting good taxes from
the mines, which remains the country’s biggest tax contributor.
ZANIS reports that he said Lumwana Mine and Konkola Copper Mines are
also expected to be major tax contributors in the next two years.
The Minister stated that all the revenue realised from the taxes will
go towards developmental projects in infrastructure and other services
across the country.
Dr. Musokotwane further said there is need to continue exploiting
mineral resources to ensure that the country raises money for
diversifying the economy.
“We should continue to exploit mining resources to create
diversification. Mining will give us money to diversify into other
sectors such as Tourism and Agriculture,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Musokotwane said Zambia should take advantage of the
increase in global grain prices to export maize to deficit areas.
He said Zambia is expected to export maize to the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Namibia, and Kenya among other countries in the region.
And speaking at the same seminar, Access Bank Managing Director
Mukwandi Chibesakunda said copper remains central to the economic
prospects for Zambia.
Mrs. Chibesakunda said copper is contributing approximately 64
percent of export earnings.
[ ZANIS ]
Dr. Musokotwane said Government has been collecting good taxes fromthe mines, which remains the country’s biggest tax contributor
Are u sure Mr Minister, we also wanted to know the period within which these arrears were accrued,10yrs, 5yrs? and what is the total value of the copper which attracted this tax?This could be very small amount compared to the value of total tonnage exported. Don’t give us half baked info Mr Minister.Unfortunately your voter in villages are not interested and don”t even understand these fiqures.
Well done MMD no party can match your competence.1.1 trillion kwacha.this is good news.
This is the mistake you chaps make you convert everything in Kwacha…then are amazed by the result… well that copper isn’t sold in Kwacha on the market it’s sold in Euros, Dollars and Sterlings….did they add any interest to those accrued arrears, that company probably made billions from the sale…the owner probably bought a Yacht for $280M. to celebrate!!
WAKE UP!!!
Make sure they pay penalties and interest since they payables are in arrears or else refund my penalty last year!
THIS MONEY IS JUST WORTHY 28 MOBILE HOSPITALS…MOST OF IT WILL BE CONSUMED IN BUYING LOGISTIC SUPPORT FOR THE PRESIDENTS MOVEMENT DURING ELECTIONS…INVESTORS RUNNING THESE MINES MUST BE VERY CAREFUL OTHERWISE THEY BE SEEM TO BE INTERFERING IN INTERNAL MATTERS CONCERNING THE FORTH COMING ELECTIONS…MINES ARE ACTUALLY FUNDING MMD…
how much is tht in kwach?
Why convert in the useless Kwacha when you sell this stuff in Pound Sterling!!!
Tell us the period to which these taxes are accrued. You are not being honest Musokotwane on mine revenue contribution. The truth is that mines have been contributing less than 2% of your national budget. Dont thrive on lies. I have never seen such an insincere minister of finance like you. Please that potifolio requires less politicking if you have to do a good job.
more campaigns money and 4×4’s
There sre alot of inconsistence from the Minister of Finance we have to be on the watchout otherwise these guys are going to empty the state coffers. We are not being told the exact amount of money being collected from Mopani Copper Mines.
this brief article is only what zanis chose to report, it is not a full report on mine taxes in zambia. we do not know what else the minister said, remember that it was an interview with journalists and his answers would therefore be specific to the questions. in contrast, look at the pf convention this coming weekend, are you inspired?
Dr Musokotwane, we all know that the mines only contribute 1% to annual revenue. That hardly qualifies them as the biggest contributor. In fact, the biggest tax payer is the Zambian worker.
That is peanuts for the kind of money that First Quantum is ripping out of Zambia!
This is Chump change ..peanuts, peanuts for a mineral thats doing so well on the Stock Market…do not be blinded by the zeros in the dollars.
How can he say this when this money is arrears…go to Al-Jareeza website on Africa and you will amazed to find out that countries like Zambia lose out billions of dollars in deliberately under valued copper by these companies and pay less tax…This government should have been tough on these chaps in the first place, there are just too many leakages in the system…. just imagine yourself importing a bus from Japan and not paying ZRA customs duty until when your bus starts paying you in years time when its on the road….its utter rubbish!!!
Imwe bafikamba; this Musokotwane guy told you before that all mining companies were being audited and Mopani was just the first. He further told you that Konkola and FQM still had outstanding tax arrears that they had not settled. You can best get this information on Reuters Africa, Mining Weekly or Mineweb websites. Zambian journalists will never give you detailed information because they know they are reporting to dimwits who have a memory and attention span of a microwave oven! Honestly I do not see what you people are mourning about!
Patience pays! People ought to understand that the windfall tax of 2008 was erroneous in that it was based on turnover instead of profit. Tax should be fair and equitable. The tax payer must be wiling to pay the tax.
@13, thanks for clarifying to these dimwits with microwave memory. to add from my blog @9, this is money from the negotiations which our govenrment has been holding with the mines over the development agreements. thanks hon musokotwane for the skillful negotiations, a cool USD224Million for rb to spend on our infrastructure, wow!. now you dimwits with microwave memory, please don’t suggest that we keep that money in the bank just because it is election year.
#14, are you serious? “The tax payer must be wiling to pay the tax.` Not obligated to… You are nuts buddy!!!
Dark Knight, #14 is partly serious and partly wrong. I am not sure about the nuts bit, it’s more like a lack of knowledge (also known as ignorance) like most PF supporters.
People do not act as if you have just disembaked from a goods train, chi goosu from Choma . We all know what politics these guys have been playing concerning mines and taxes. First it was the crunch and they had to protect the investments, fair enough.However, even when commodity prices recovered, they still could not implement equitable taxes and when the report came out about shoddy dealings by Mopani after being audited by their fellow capitalists in Europe, it was Situmbeko who was fastest to protect them. Now that the tide has gone and those who were swimming naked have been exposed, they want to claim bonus points for things they could not put right. Its our money, but how much more were they supposed to pay back in arrears? It wouldn’t shock me if private deals have been struck!!
#12 Jonas, thanks for that info. It is really a shame for the MMD government and its dirty rotten policies. New Administration is needed!
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/20116188244589715.html