Maravi

Mushala backs Kavindele’s call to re-invest $18m in N/Western

COMMENT - The $18.1 million are crumbs. It is almost not worth talking about where it could be invested. The government should received 50% of profits from the mines AT LEAST - that would be $1.2 billion a year, every year. Which in itself would be more than they received from all PAYE put together. However, they have a corrupt agreement with the mines in which the mines don't have to pay taxes (at a price, of course), and through ZCCM-IH they have a corrupt agreement that they barely have to pay dividends, which are usually 50% of profits. These are crumbs.

Mushala backs Kavindele’s call to re-invest $18m in N/Western
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Sun 16 May 2010, 04:40 CAT

BERT Mushala yesterday said it is unacceptable for the government to take US $18 million from North Western Province and invest in Copperbelt and Central provinces.

And former North Western Province MMD chairman James Katoka has said concerned stakeholders in the province including chiefs will press for more support from the central government failure to which the ruling party will receive no votes in next year’s elections.

Mushala, who is former member of parliament for Mufumbwe, backed former Republican vice-president Enoch Kavindele’s call to re-invest the US $18 million Kansanshi mine paid as dividends to Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) in North Western Province instead of other areas.

ZCCM-IH plans to invest the money in the agriculture sector in Central and Copperbelt provinces. Mushala said it was saddening that resources from North Western Province had continued to be taken elsewhere despite the complaints of underdevelopment in the area.

He said people in the province could ably develop the region if there was dedicated attention from the government.

Mushala said there was no justification in redirecting North Western Province’s wealth into other provinces without first developing it.

“We are backing Kavindele. Our complaint on the diversion of the US $18.1 million to Central and Copperbelt is that, why has it been taken there when the money is coming from this province? What about North Western Province?

That diversification planned agricultural projects by ZCCM-IH in the two provinces should start from North Western Province. That income is coming from here. That’s unacceptable,” Mushala said. “FQM mines in the Copperbelt.

We know that but they also mine here. So when there is money realised from the wealth of the mines, why does it have to go somewhere else? Take diversification to Central and Copperbelt! Why? That money is ours. It’s generated from here. It can be put in various agricultural infrastructure here.

We have 75 per cent arable land in North Western Province. We have rivers that provide us with enough water. There is abundant rainfall, we think agriculture can do a lot in terms of developing of the country.

“We can also develop our animal husbandry and potential of fish farming. Why should they spend money in Copperbelt and not here? We want our share.”

He said it was a shame that the province, which now provided the country with massive foreign exchange, was ranked seventh poorest.

“We are number seven in terms of poverty, we only beat Western Province. We are called new Copperbelt but we can’t see the ‘newness’. We have copper, uranium, oil and gas and other valuable minerals. We don’t understand why in the country we should lag behind at number seven when we have all these things. We would like to see infrastructure development which will promote the country,” he said.

Mushala complained that despite being the source of both Kafue and Zambezi rivers and other water bodies, the province, except for Solwezi, still depended on power generated by diesel.

“Most of the towns run on diesel generators, machines, which is not normal way of generating power. Why can’t we be connected to the national grid? Kafue and Zambezi rivers start from here so in terms of hydropower station we want to see power stations put up.

We are closer to the Congo we want to throw some power into the connector and supply other countries like Tanzania. Kafue and Zambezi are daughters of the Congo River,” he said.

Mushala observed that despite the government’s perennial excuse of lack of money, the leadership had continued throwing about resources realised from mineral wealth resulting in the province lacking essential services like schools and health facilities.

“They claim that they don’t have money but they are busy throwing money around. People walk long distances to go to schools. Health facilities are in short supply. The road Chingola-Solwezi is bad; there are so many trucks that use that road. It’s badly damaged.

We need a railway line for the province,” he said. “We expect to see benefits in mines. We don’t benefit anything from these mines and yet they are in our area. Very soon we shall be seeing only pits that this is what we had.

“What they are forgetting is that we are the ones who have built MMD here. There was no MMD in North Western Province. We engineered it.”

And Katoka said North Westerners were bitter about being shunned and could give the MMD hell in 2011 if the province continues being taken for a ride.

“If they don’t deliver, they won’t get the vote. We don’t want to be used for elections. We are going to mobilise the chiefs so that we speak up and develop this province. We are going to give them hell! We are not going to let them cheat us. We want our cake from the revenue.

Contrary to what they are saying that they regard North Western Province as part of Zambia, no. They are still regarding it as a Cinderella province,” Katoka said. “If we are still part of Zambia why was money diverted from the airport and taken to Mfuwe?

Then there was some other money that was meant for the M8 Mutanda – Chavuma, it was also taken away to Eastern Province. Is Eastern province the only province in Zambia? What we are saying is that money has to be returned to North Western Province if they are to get a vote from here. We are not saying other provinces should not benefit from the wealth that we have here. What we are saying is that provinces should have equal opportunities.”

Katoka said if adequate attention was not paid to the province, the people could make it difficult for the mines to operate.

“We are the kingmakers. We have made them rich but we ourselves are poor. We are the people who will remain with ditches here. What we are saying is, in all areas of income we are going to make it difficult for them leaders to enjoy. We are going to make it difficult for them to enjoy money from Kansanshi. We will reorganise ourselves and make it difficult for them to mine. We are not a Cinderella province anymore. We are a province that can do things for itself now,” Katoka said. “If they want, ‘kuti basendako’ half ‘bashako’ half if they want they can take half and leave half. If money is going to Eastern, Central and other provinces, why is that same money not coming to North Western? North Western needs its share. This system of diverting resources we are bitter about it.”

Katoka praised the late president Levy Mwanawasa for promising and delivering to the people of the North Western Province but questioned President Rupiah Banda’s agenda regarding Mwanawasa’s legacy.

“Mwanawasa promised and delivered but whoever has replaced him on the promise of continuity has not delivered. Where is the continuity? We have been cheated for a long time. But we will fight tooth and nail. Mwanawasa promised and delivered, but they are diverting whatever Mwanawasa promised to their provinces. For them to get what they want from North Western Province they must deliver.

People are tired of endless and empty promises,” he said. “During Mwanawasa’s time whatever dividends came from the mines in North Western benefited us, but now why are we not getting it? We are also mathematicians, we can calculate it.

“We are going to team up with the chiefs. Our chiefs and our subjects we are going to team up to make sure they deliver. When it comes to our chiefs, if they are given money let them get it. We are going to tell them to chew the money. No one will give MMD a vote. If North Western, Western, Central and Ndola rural do not give MMD a vote, they are gone.

They are not winning MMD MPs in North Western Province. Not one of them will win. It will be tough. We will grab all the seats from them. MMD in North Western Province is gone. These pointing at Mushala and Malwa are the architects of MMD and they are saying MMD is finished! 2011 is just a matter of minutes away. We are ready. We have been cheated! Enough is enough.”

Katoka said all provinces in the country needed to be represented in the government.
“Recently, we had this by-election in Mufumbwe. We had Muzungu being returned from his job as Zambia’s ambassador in Libya knowing that a relative was going to replace him. They knew even before asking him to contest the by-election that they had their relative waiting to replace him,” said Katoka.

Labels: BERT MUSHALA, CORRUPTION, DIVIDENDS, ENOCH KAVINDELE, MMD

posted by MrK @ 4:25 AM