Some miners in Kitwe have asked Patrotic Front (PF) cadres to stop interfering in the current negotiations between government and Konkola Copper Mines over the impending job cuts in the mining sector.
Some miners talked to said the PF cadres were organizing and mobilising miners to stage public protests against the mining conglomerate and to denounce investors.
The miners said PF cadres must separate politics from business matters because their threats on investors had the potential to scare away capital inflows to Zambia.
James Mwape of Kitwe said politicians must allow the government, Konkola Copper Mines and trade unions engage in dialogue over the matter instead of the PF to continue making careless statements that sought to give them political leverage.
“We know they are making empty statements that the government should take over the mines from Konkola Copper Mines because the government was able to run them. This is not true. Why did the previous government privatise them? Let us give chance to dialogue,” he said.
Another miner Innocent Changwe said Konkola Copper Mines must not hand back its mines to the government. He said the government had no capacity to operate the mines because it was still struggling with handling social programmes.
“There will be untold misery on the Copperbelt once the government allows Konkola Copper Mines to close down. What will be their new plan? Is it to run the mines themselves or to find another investor? This doesn’t happen overnight but it means we shall be suffering as the government handles the problem,” he said.
And Lydia Simwaka said it had become too common for PF cadres to interfere in government business. She said politicians must bring civility to society instead of disturbing order in business.
“Although we do not support to cutting of jobs and we are really worried, we think it is wrong for party cadres to bring interfere in mining affairs because they are just bringing confusion,” she said.
Last week, Konkola Copper Mines announced that it would cut over 2000 jobs because of the rising cost of doing business.
The mining firm cited the increased fuel prices, which were hiked by over 20 per cent following government removal of subsidy on fuel products. The mines also said copper prices on the international market had plummeted from US$9, 000 to below US$7, 000 making it unattainable for the its operations a bloated work force.
But this caused PF cadres to mobilise miners from Chililabombwe, Chingola and Kitwe and transported them to city centre in Kitwe where they staged a demonstration against Konkola Copper Mines.
The PF members in Lusaka and the Copperbelt together with sponsored supporters such as Open Society Foundation executive director Sunday Chanda were asking Konkola Copper Mines to surrender the mine back to the government, but economists have warned that the move would be forcing Zambia back into the socialist type of economic dispensation, which is contrary to the prevailing capitalist method.
Acting president Edgar Lungu has also opposed the proposed takeover of Konkola Copper Mines saying it was not the PF policy.
Lungu said the problem at Konkola Copper Mines was being handled through relevant government departments because the loss of 2, 000 jobs was too severe.
The post PF Cadres Intervene in KCM Dispute appeared first on Zambia Reports.