Maravi

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar

Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
By Editor
Friday February 29, 2008 [03:00]

It seems the attitude and behaviour of transnational corporations exploiting our minerals will never change. They started, under the British South African Company, as a government making all the laws and other regulations in their own favour. And they continued this even after mining corporate rule in this country ceased. They got all the tax concessions they wanted from the British colonial office.

It is this arrogant and selfish behaviour that partly led to the nationalisation of the mines in 1971. They shouldn’t push this country on that path again. They shouldn’t think it’s impossible to nationalise the mines again. It is being done all over Latin America today. The Russians are re-nationalising. It can be done here. If this government can’t do it, another willing government can be put in place to do it.

They shouldn’t pretend in any way that they are here on a charitable mission to help Zambia develop. They are here to make profits and to maximise their benefits. Let’s look at their behaviour and see what they did over the last few years when they were reaping gigantic profits, windfall profits.

Not even one day did they go to the Zambian government and say, “ Zambian Minister of Finance, we are making very high profits as a result of unexpected very high copper prices, please increase the taxes we pay so that the Zambian people can benefit a bit more from their copper!”

Not even one day did they rise and say, “Zambian workers working on our mines, we have windfall profits, here is your share of that!” If anything, we witnessed some strikes by Zambian workers seeking salary increments over this same period of windfall profits. This is how greedy these elements are, this is the vanity of these characters – they are here not to help but to rape.

Whatever we get from them will only come after a grueling fight, a relentless struggle. And it doesn’t matter whether it is the government seeking an increment in taxes or workers asking for increased wages – it has to be accompanied by a relentless struggle.

Jeromy Allen is saying the mining companies are not against the new taxes proposed by the government but are only in favour of a well-structured tax regime that would take into account the positions of the parties involved. Allen is lying.

They are not in favour of increased taxes. If they were in favour of increased taxes, they would in no way oppose these new taxes because they are very modest. That is why even the International Monetary Fund is saying our mining taxes are extraordinarily low. And this is an institution that doesn’t speak for the people but always represents the interests of capital, of transnational corporations.

Allen says “what we need is a win-win situation”. This is not true. They were reaping gigantic profits but not even one day did Allen and his friends see it fit to invoke this “win-win” idea and come up with a formula to share the windfall profits. If anything, they kept silent as if nothing good was going their way. And today Allen wants to tell us that he wants a win-win situation. This is an affront on our intelligence. This is not a country of 11 million fools.

Truly, “Zambia needs re-investment for a robust economy.” And no one can disagree with Allen on this. But it can’t be only in one sector of the economy. It has to be in all sectors – tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and even in the social sectors.

But if those operating in these other sectors were behaving in the same arrogant way as Allen and his friends are, where would the government raise taxes from? If all businesses in all sectors in this country behaved with the same arrogance that the mining companies are exhibiting, what would become of this country? Where would government raise taxes?

Allen is saying the mining companies are doing a lot for Zambia and should be given time to discuss the proposed tax regime with experts. It is the duty of government to decide what taxes to levy. If every sector had to be treated the way the mining sector wants to be treated, we wonder what would become of this country. Schools, hospitals, police stations and other state institutions would close.

Yes, the mining companies may be doing a lot for Zambia but the Zambian government is doing more for the mines than they are doing for it. Look at the infrastructure that the government has set for these companies not only to mine but also to transport their minerals to the ports. We have heavy trucks on our roads carrying copper and causing so much damage to these roads.

At least unlike these characters of today, Cecil Rhodes built a rail for the transportation of his minerals. These are just sucking the blood of the sufferer like vampires – from the poor Zambian businessman and worker taxes are collected to maintain roads and other infrastructure for the transportation of these exploiters’ minerals. Allen can’t see all this, he is blinded by profits.

We agree with Guy Scott that this is the time for the mines to pay taxes like others have been doing. And if they don’t, they are headed for a serious showdown with our people and they may risk getting their operations paralysed by protests. They may not be able to ship a single tonne of copper to the ports on roads and rail networks built with our taxes.

Yes they can negotiate with government, but at the end of the day, our government must decide what is in the best interest of this country and levy appropriate taxes without being threatened or blackmailed in any way.

And Allen and his friends shouldn’t talk to us as if copper mining is new to this country. There was mining in this country long before he was born. And our people know what they have been subjected to. Kenneth Kaunda has explained the situation and in total agreement with what Levy Mwanawasa’s government is trying to do. This country will not be blackmailed over its copper. If Allen and his friends feel they are getting a raw deal, let them pack and go. If it’s a question of giving back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to the people what belongs to the people, let it be so.

These are new times with a new breed of Zambians who will not accept a raw deal. This is a generation that is today seeking a more fair, just and humane world – and which sees it as its duty to do so, to struggle for such a world.

The Zambian government needs taxes and somebody has got to pay, but the mining companies would rather that somebody was somebody else not them. These new mining taxes were introduced not merely for the purpose of raising barren taxes, but taxes that are fertile taxes, taxes that will bring forth fruit – help remove our people from poverty and provide for the security of our country which is paramount in the midst of all and which without no mining activities can take place. We want a functioning government.

Those who are not interested in that type of government should go to Congo – but even there it won’t be long because our brothers and sisters in that country are trying everything possible to bring sanity to the exploitation of their mineral resources and it won’t be long before they start doing what we are trying to do.

It is clear that the day of reckoning for the mining companies in this country is at hand. We believe, like many others, that the mining taxes the government has proposed are fair, just and moderate and we see no injustice in them.

All we can say is this – being given a mining licence is not merely an enjoyment, it is a stewardship. It hasn’t been reckoned as such in the past but times have changed or are changing. No country can permanently afford to have quartered upon its revenue a group which declines the duty which it was called upon to perform. By that test, we challenge the mining companies to judge the new mining taxes.

Labels: WINDFALL TAX

posted by MrK @ 4:07 AM