Maravi

World Bank sees $100m growth in mine revenue

COMMENT - We can look forward to $400 million? The mines owe AT LEAST $1300 million a year, in profit tax to the ZRA and dividends to ZCCM-IH. The World Bank is as punitive of any country that refuses to follow the Washington Consensus, as it is indifferent to the non-payment of taxes by the corporations that their privatisation has put in charge of the nation's resources. My guess is that the owners of the World Bank and IMF are the same owners of the mining companies. People talk about corruption, but this is corruption of the highest order.

World Bank sees $100m growth in mine revenue
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 23 June 2011, 09:00 CAT

THE World Bank says Zambia’s revenue from its vast mining sector will by 2015 increase by an additional US$100 million from the current US$300 million for every overall export earnings of about US$5.3 billion.

Country manager for Zambia Dr Kapil Kapoor in an interview said the World Bank had not yet projected the amount of copper that would be extracted from Zambia to generate revenues of about to US$500 million annually.

“Zambia will get tax revenues in excess of half a billion dollars a year in the next three to four years,” Dr Kapoor said in an interview.

“This year would expect the revenue to increase by about US $100 million.”

Zambia currently collects about 2 per cent of GDP in mining tax revenues.
The share of mining taxes in total tax revenues mobilised by the government is about 10 per cent.

Dr Kapoor said he expected a significant increase in revenues from the mining sector “over the next few years.”

He said although key donor support to boost Zambia Revenue Authority’s capacity to collect appropriate level of taxes from mining firms was expected to continue in the next three to four years, it was important to continue building capacity of the country’s revenue body.

“It is therefore very imperative that policies and institutions are put into place that will allow Zambia to manage those resources in the future,” he said.

Dr Kapoor said there was need to improve competitiveness of Zambia’s manufacturing industries to allow them provide inputs for the mining sector.

“Because the cost of doing business is very high, there are not able to support backward linkages with the mines,” said Dr Kapoor.

“What is imperative is the government to think very carefully at the entire value chain to make sure the resources are managed properly and invested in the development of skills, health and education, infrastructure so that the jobs that Zambia needs can be created.”

Labels: CORRUPTION, KAPIL KAPOOR, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 6:12 PM