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(DAILY MAIL ZM) State loses millions in illegal Mansa mining

State loses millions in illegal Mansa mining
By Judith Hara

THE Government is losing millions of Kwacha in revenue per annum through illegal manganese mining in Mansa, Luapula Province, Town Clerk Brighton Mbaimbai has disclosed.

The local authority has since appealed to the Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources to help curb the vice and compel the mining firms in the region to start paying taxes.

Mr Mbaimbai, who could not say exactly how much the Government was losing, said the situation was due to the failure by manganese extraction firms in the province to formalise their operations with the relevant authorities.

In addition, the mining companies did not even appear in the Mansa Council Valuation Roll to compel them to pay the taxes through the local authorities.

In an interview from Mansa yesterday, Mr Mbaimbai disclosed that seven mining companies had so far been issued with large-scale mining licences but that, they had not formalised their operations with the council,leading to the loss of revenue.

Manganese mining firms in Mansa were supposed to be the largest contributor to Government and council revenue in terms of taxes but they were not paying anything.

“These mining companies are currently mining without leaving anything for the Government and the council. This is so because the mines are not appearing anywhere in our valuation roll and deeds records, although some of the mining firm’s activities are legal,” Mr Mbaimbai explained.

The town clerk named some of the legal mining companies operating there as Genesis, Taurian, Tycoon and Amanita, while others were operating illegally.

All these were not paying any revenue to either the Government and the council.

Mr Mbaimbai said the Ministry of Mines had awarded large-scale mining licences to the companies but the council had no proof of ownership of the land.

He said the council wrote to the mining companies asking them to formalise their businesses but they had not done so, forcing the local authorities to write the Ministry of Mines to compel them to start paying taxes but even the ministry has equally not responded to date.

Mr Mbaimbai said the mining companies must realise that they had a duty to pay taxes to authorities as it was from the mines where the Government and the council would generate revenue.

Labels: MANGANESE, MANSA DISTRICT, MINING

posted by MrK @ 8:13 PM