Renewed hope for mining sector

Although privatisation of Zambia's copper mining industry initially resulted in job losses and some mine closures, new investments have created more jobs and increased production. Commerce and Industry Deputy Minister Eugene Appel told parliament recently that Zambia's Copperbelt region had benefited from US $590 million, placed by three investors, which had created 19,000 jobs since completion of the state's privatisation programme in 2000. The government has pledged to capitalise on the renewed confidence and increased investment in the mining sector. Finance and National Planning Deputy Minister Felix Mutati said the government was committed to ensuring that policies remained predictable and consistent, so as to attract more investors. After touring a multimillion dollar mining investment at Kantanshi in North Western province last week, Mutati said the government would give increased certainty to investors. While privatisation initially caused the mining industry to shed 13,000 jobs, the Chamber of Mines of Zambia said there had been significant employment gains in recent years. Frederick Bantubonse, general manager of the Chamber of Mines, told IRIN: "The new scenario now is using a lot of contractors - direct labour might have been lost, but more labour gains [have been made] by contractors: underground drilling and blasting is now contracted. There was no option but privatisation - without privatisation the mines would have closed by now, and while we lost some jobs due to privatisation, it was inevitable because production at [state owned mines] was not sustainable." President of the mineworkers Union of Zambia, Andrew Mwanza, said "the only cry [complaint] for the union is that most of the jobs [created] are on a contract basis". With new investments in the sector, the Chamber of Mines is predicting bumper copper production of 420,000 mt this year, well above production levels of the past few years. Copper exports remain a major foreign currency earner for the country.