Govt, unions welcome KCM's commitment to pay tax

The Daily Mail follows up on yesterday's story about KCM accepting the new tax regime with quotes from Government and trade unions, welcoming the companies' announcement.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Mineral Development Maxwell Mwale said,“As Government, we are very encouraged by KCM’s decision to accept paying the new taxes because these taxes have not been imposed on the mining companies. It is an Act of Parliament and it needs to be respected,”

Mining companies would still make a lot of profit even after paying the new mineral and royalty taxes.“We have provided an enabling environment for our mining investors to continue operating, so when we come up with laws such as the new taxes, why should investors argue when they are operating under good policies,” Mr Mwale said.

“My advice to other mining companies is for them to emulate KCM. This is the kind of cooperation we want to see from our investors,” he said.

Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ) and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) also urged other mining houses to emulate KCM. The unions commended KCM for the decision because resorting to court action on the matter would not be an amicable way of doing things. MUZ general secretary Oswell Munyenyembe urged other mining houses to take a leaf from KCM and comply with Government’s decision on the new mineral taxes.“We are calling upon other mining companies to follow suit and pay the new mineral taxes. Right now I am in Solwezi, and if you look at the state of the roads in the townships, it is a sad story. Look at Wusakile, Kantanshi and other mine townships… they are in a bad state. There is nothing that these mining houses are doing,” Mr Munyenyembe said. He said KCM had done well to lead the way in accepting Government’s decision.“We are calling on Government to take the bull by the horns and revoke licences of all mining companies that have rejected the mineral tax increase and give them to patriotic investors,” he said. NUMAW president Mundia Sikufele commended KCM for leading the way in accepting the new taxes. Mr Sikufele said NUMAW had always urged mining companies opposed to the newly introduced mineral taxes to engage Government in meaningful dialogue.