(TIMES) Kansanshi Mining parts company with local contractors
Kansanshi Mining parts company with local contractorsBy Times Reporter
KANSANSHI Mining Plc in Solwezi has done away with Zambian contractors providing cleaning and catering services, and will instead engage foreign companies. According to a joint letter by Kansanshi contracts officer, Franques Lee and commercial manager, Bill Allen, the local companies stopped providing services to Kansanshi on December 31, 2007. The service contracts included provision of catering services at Kansanshi Mine, cleaning of the village and golf estate, Simba school, plant and town offices.
“Kansanshi hereby confirms that the above contracts will be in force until 31 December 2007. Kansanshi will be awarding this contract to another company whose tender has been selected after a full valuation,” reads the letter co-signed by Mr Lee and Mr Allen.
The letter of November 20, 2007, obtained in Solwezi at the weekend, says Kansanshi would not be liable for any payments in lieu of notice for employees terminated after 31 December 2007.
The cleaning services had been given to Mr Clean, a South African company, while a Ghanaian company, Allterian Services Group (ATS) had taken over catering services at the mine.
The two companies have since opened offices at Kansanshi mine plant. Kansanshi public relations manager, Godfrey Msiska, said he would only be able to issue a statement on the matter today.
Labels: CONTRACTORS, KANSANSHI MINING PLC
posted by MrK @ 10:05 AM
7 Comments:
See here, the failure of neoliberalism.
Even when not receiving taxes, even when not sharing profits, the justification for having foreign direct investment or FDI, is that they would 'bring employment'.
Even that is too much to contribute to Zambia's society.
This should be a warning to the ruling party, that depending on foreign companies to develop the country or the economy can not work.
What there has to be, is an environment in which local companies can thrive. That should be the only economic policy the government should focus on.
This is just tops the incompetence of our Govt negotiators -
They failed to sell Zambian land and copper at a competitive/economic price.
Failed to enforce taxation.
Failed to raise mining royalties from 0.3%!
Failed to ensure qualified Zambians get first priority for managerial positions.
Failed to prevent externalization of at least 25% of profits for the next 5yrs.
And Failed to require Zambian contractors are the primary providers of basic services.
Why stop there, Go on you bloody brainless morons! Just declare Kansanshi foreign territory. Save ordinary Zambians the pain and shame of seeing foreigners benefiting from the sell of Zambian copper!
This has been going on since privatising the mines and it's high time GRZ got a handle on this.
So what's the excuse this time or is it the usual finger of blame aimed at the IMF/World Bank policies?
GRZ policy has clearly failed the people here. There's need to take a critical look at what the original policy, or lack there of, has done and what it was intended to do.
Bring back Zambianisation! And by that I mean putting in measures to ensure maximum benefit to the local people while encouraging the much needed foreign investment, where it is needed.
The top guys running the Kansanshi procurement departments are ghanaians. Therefore it shouldn't come as a surprise that a ghanaian company has been given preference over a Zambian. There's more to come.
slm
Zedian,
Bring back Zambianisation! And by that I mean putting in measures to ensure maximum benefit to the local people while encouraging the much needed foreign investment, where it is needed.
Bring back not only Zambianisation, but put the facilitation of Zambian businesses at the center of government policy.
Zambia has millions of marketeers and subsistence farmers, who are the country's real untapped resource. They should be helped financially, legally and in any other way, to step up their business activities. If only 10% of all marketeers and farmers would do that, it would be a completely different economy. Free the Zambian entrepreneurs, and give the land to the farmers, so they own it outright as long as they work it (land speculation should be avoided).
However, this government is elitist, and locked into the mindset that free markets know best. And like the American neoliberals, they are in love with the concept of borrowing (see Caleb Fundanga's appeal to local governments to start taking on debt through municipal bonds, to finance local infrastructure - instead of paying half of government revenues to local government directly).
In reality, the most successful economies in the world are extremely protective of their own companies. Japan, South Korea, they protect their domestic businesses in all kinds of ways. They vertically integrate economic sectors, they have all kinds of obstacles that make it impossible for any foreign company to set up a car manufacturing plant in Japan, for instance. Foreign companies are more than welcome to help Japan export their home made cars, but not to themselves manufacture cars in Japan - they keep that right for Japanese companies.
If this government insisted on benefiting from the mines, and only hired foreign companies to mine for them, on the condition that they pay lots of taxes, have joint share ownership with the state (sharing profits after they have been taxed) and demand that they only hire Zambian contractors, that would transform the economy.
But the real, permanent transformation comes when that money is used to build infrastructure and develop agriculture. Traditionally, surpluses from agriculture have been used to spur manufacturing and industry, and it can do the same in Zambia.
But the present situation is a bad joke. The government needs to connect the dots, and conclude that the reason the people are not seeing any benefits, is because they are excluded from the whole process. It is Economics 101 - the economy consistss of Land, Capital and Labour. They have forgotten all about Labour. The people are the country's biggest resource.
SLM said...
The top guys running the Kansanshi procurement departments are ghanaians. Therefore it shouldn't come as a surprise that a ghanaian company has been given preference over a Zambian. There's more to come.
There is not going to be an end to massive unemployment until the government starts to get behind Zambian businesses - and land reform, and infrastructure creation.
MrK,
You said:
...They have forgotten all about Labour. The people are the country's biggest resource.
That's it! Think China. Zambia can take a leaf from those people.
Zedian,
I'll tell you why there are 1.3 billion Chinese. The Chinese very early on built huge irrigation canals. People are 90% water - if you have more water, you can have more people - whether directly through drinking water or indirectly through more vegetables and livestock.
One key to Zambian development is to use Zambia's massive water resources and harness them for irrigation.
China built huge canals centuries ago, which is the key to their economic and demographic success.
There is an excellent book called Farmers Of Forty Centuries, by FH King. Very inspirational and instructive.
There are huge amounts of money to be made in agriculture.
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