Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD youths have said that Government takeover of Konkola Copper Mines KCM should be done with the soberness it deserves as it affects thousands of lives in the mining town.
Commenting on the KCM/Government debacle MMD National Youth Chairperson Dauzeni Tembo said the situation at KCM is delicate and requires deep reflection as the livelihood of not only the town but many lives in the province is at stake.
He cautioned the delegation tasked to handle the matter not to conduct themselves dishonorably but instead exhibit high levels of integrity as any mess will have the face of the Republican President.
He said the President should ensure that the best interest of the country takes centre stage if the situation is to be redeemed.
“As MMD youths, we believe the takeover of KCM was long overdue owing to the public outcry over the years due to the numerous bad business practices by Vedanta Resources.
“We strongly believe this is a very critical issue that requires Zambians to come together to redeem the situation to save lives that are at stake. We need to be as sober as possible because this affects thousands of lives. Its a community’s livelihood at stake. As youths in the party we want to encourage President Lungu to remain resolute in protecting Zambia’s best interests in this quagmire,” he said.
He said as opposed to finger pointing stakeholders should show unity of purpose by supporting the decision by Government which was made to protect the interest of the country.
He further urged government to remain open to advise regardless of where it is coming from.
“Stakeholders should deeply reflect on what is supposed to happen. To the politicians, this is not an issue we should isolate to gain cheap political mileage. We must be Zambians above all.
“This should not be about President Lungu but this matter affects all of us, the copper being exploited belongs to all of us and the thousands of jobs at risk are our fellow Zambians with families to fend for who should not be thrown to the streets,” he said.
He said the KCM takeover is the biggest test of President Lungu’s leadership and urged him and the PF to tread carefully and ensure that they are sensitive to the plight of the affected people in the mining town and the surrounding communities.
“The ‘KCM takeover’ is by far the biggest test of President Lungu’s leadership let alone the Patriotic Front as a political party. Therefore,
we want to caution our colleagues PF who are in government to tread carefully and be sensitive enough to the plight of ultimately the miners whose livelihood is now in danger.
“Those tasked by the President to look at this issue must help President Lungu and act with honor and integrity in the interest of Zambia. No one should take advantage of the situation to begin to make deals. We all ought to understand that ultimately there is no winner nor loser, there is no middle ground because stakes are high,” he said.
Chachine. We will really see what Lungu is all about. We saw what Chiluba was about when it came to looting government assets in the name of privatization. We also saw how kachema was about by grabbing government assets through being a pricing consultant & under pricing them for himself to buy. So today this is one test to see how Lungu works. Let’s watch
This is very true. The approach will matter most. If ECL and the group have not thought through this, they better talk to KCM and give them the last warning while ECL is thinking of how to boot them out. Otherwise this will not end well with ECL and PF!
PF NAZIs at it again. Blaming HH for everything just like the NAZIs blamed Jews for everything. When the economy was not good, the NAZIs said its the Jews who are sabotaging the economy. They even blamed Jews for bringing Africans to Rhineland in order to dilute the super race. Here we are again, when the economy fails, its HH sabotaging the economy because he is a front for imperialists. They even blame a person who was not in government for privatization of mines. What type of nonsense is this. PF thinking is warped just like the NAZI. Ignorance based leadership giving a false narrative which naive carders take for truth and begin to shamelessly sing about.
Idea of changing ownership of KCM is ok, but not LIQUIDATION. We have seen how those useless Edgar’s wild-dogs run to loot assets of the liquidated companies.
I will repeat, PF thugs are simply SABOTAGING anything.
These thieves grabbed mukula logs and TRUCKS. So many trucks get impounded and maybe they just set them on fire.
Go to KCM today, maybe all vehicles are impounded.
Just 13 people troubling you
The only Youth spoken sensible and balanced words .His article is well balanced. These are the kind of politician we want . Keep it up Mr Tembo
A very mature statement from mmd youths. The statement from hh must be on those lines
He bragged that he bought the mine at 25 million USD from hh and would make 500USD annually
He said that at talk show in India
Be grown up and speak or write the truth. who on earth told you a consultant make decision. That is the information you have been given by politicians who have no integrity and you have believed a lie. Check what a consultant does. If HH had stolen he would have been jailed. Keep to facts if you have something to contribute to the talk.
All is gone in there pockets already. This govt has no direction and no sound advice they can get from anybody.
HH and the party he represents must NOT even dare make a comment on this issue because he was in the forefront of undercutting deals, mishandling the whole process of privatization of the mines assets and now it is his and others actions that have put us in this mess. For HH to try and come out as if he was not at the centre of the prevailing situation will be a further insult not only to the miners on Copperbelt but to Zambians at large. Remember that HH played a big role in the entire privatization program which should have put safety nets on how these assets where to be offloaded but never did because his focus was on enriching himself and not the long-term effects.
So to all miners in the country, ask yourselves this question, how did we find ourselves in such a situation when…
I hope they’re listening. The trouble is the calibre of lawyer picked to the liquidator. You can’t pick a guy to handle a sensitive issue like this who has been implicated in the AG’s report of 2017. To make things worse he is also the lawyer involved in Chitotela’s corruption case as a conduit for money laundering. My question is are there no untented lawyers in Zambia???. The other question is why did these guys go for liquidation instead of a take-over?? When these guys go for liquidation anything they touch goes pearsharped and they do things with vengeance. Just hoping things turn around for the better. I doubt hey can deliver for the people.
Mmd youth expressing his own personal opinion.
First and foremost, KCM has been closed by pf president, with immediate effect. Meaning all workers have been declared redundant. Is there an immediate plan to look after the former workers? No, pf does not even know that it has created another immediate problem of unemployment.
Come monthend there will be no salaries and no money in the former workers pockets. Reality will then just set in, then the full impact of the trial and error decision of pf president edgar chagwa lungu shall be realised. When the hungry pf cadres/workers start making noise, pf govt will be forced to divert from other services govt monies to start paying wages to redundant workers, the wages which kcm would have been paying. In the meantime GRZ is broke due to…
In the meantime GRZ is broke due to wrong pf policies. Currently pf is failing to pay mainstream service workers especially those in councils and grant aided institutions, what more of this additional responsibility. Ati a test of lidaship!
How is the broke pf govt going to pay redundacy packages to former employees and also pay creditors their dues? Normally it should be paid from monies realized after selling of company assets. The problem is no major investor who will ever want to by these mining assets in a country where a president will just grab them!
Govt should have set up a works committee of exparts to go through the nitty gritties and make relevant recommendation upon which Grz would have acted. The intention should not to grab any institution that falls behind in tax…
The intention should not to grab any institution that falls behind in tax payments.
Lastly, if you dont know the objectives of privatization program and who was responsible for it during the MMD era visit our fb page for more information. Stop expressing your ignorance in public and stop blaming HH.
We have experienced Zambians who can be consulted on the way forward. Seasoned former miners like the Shamutetes, Mutati brothers , Ernest Pilula etc, who are still alive and can assist government plan on how to effectively run these mines. KCM under these Indians has long been mismanaged.