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Free education not possible without mining tax - KK

Free education not possible without mining tax - KK
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sat 04 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT

FREE education is not possible without the mining investors paying tax, said Dr Kenneth Kaunda. Dr Kaunda, Zambia's first Republican president, said there was need for mining firms to raise copper output to pay more taxes for the government to fund the provision of social amenities.

Dr Kaunda hailed the US$2.5 billion investments into Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) by London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, saying this was the type of investment that enabled the UNIP government to provide free education to Zambians.

Dr Kaunda, who called on KCM on Thursday, expressed happiness with the focus of investments after the company's chief executive officer Jeyakumar Janakaraj ran down a list of investments in upgrades and expansions since Vedanta took over the mine's assets six years ago.

"Free education is not possible without you (the investors) paying tax, you are working so hard...without you it is not possible to provide free education," Dr Kaunda told Mr Janakaraj and other senior management staff during a briefing. "This investment is amazing."

He told Zambian mining experts during the meeting to "make good use of the investments at KCM" to ensure future generations continued to enjoy the benefit accrued from mining operations of their natural wealth.

Dr Kaunda said KCM had positioned its investments in a way that helps to grow the Zambian economy, bringing major benefits to its citizens.

KCM's investments have gone into fresh mineral explorations, expansions of existing assets and development of new projects such as the Konkola Deep Mining Project (KDMP), the Nchanga Upper Ore Body (UOB) and expansion of Open Pits at Nchanga to increase production and extend mine life.

The company has also constructed a state-of-the-art flash smelter which, apart from capturing approximately 99 per cent sulphur dioxide, is a globally acclaimed facility at Nchanga, two new concentrators at Nchanga and Konkola and also invested in a modern refinery at Nkana in Kitwe.

Dr Kaunda also paid tribute to Vedanta Resources Plc chairman Anil Agarwal for focusing to grow the company's mining footprint on the continent of Africa after he learned Vedanta had invested in Namibia, South Africa and Liberia.

Janakaraj said KCM was pushing ahead with its growth path to extend the life of the mine and contribute to the development of both the Zambia economy and its human resource.

"The KDMP and UOB have been on the drawing board for close to 30 years but we have executed everything and the execution has been quite fast," said Janakaraj.

Labels: EDUCATION, KCM, KENNETH KAUNDA, VEDANTA, WINDFALL TAX

posted by MrK @ 12:22 PM