By JULIUS PHIRI –
UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has said Zambia has the potential of producing 1.5 million tonnes of copper, compared to the 750,000 metric tonnes it currently produces.
Mr Hichilema, who spoke at the 2016 Mining Indaba in South Africa said Zambia had a great opportunity that still existed in many areas for mining projects and that would bring benefit to the people in terms of jobs and stimulating local economies.
Mr Hichilema said Zambia had learnt from the recent price fluctuations and suggested that for far too long Zambia has been like a microcosm of the mining industry, believing during the good years,  that they would last forever and not reinvesting the money in diversification.
He said Zambia must break the cycle of panicking when this went wrong.
He further called for conversation and dialogue, and not confrontation, between the governments and companies  as both faced challenges in navigating the commodity price cycle.
He said it was important to  identify vulnerabilities that could create additional problems in advance, such as in the energy sector.
He also stated that the recent weakness in the copper price and other commodities had proved as a painful reminder that quicker action was required on diversification to end over-dependence on one sector.
For investors and mining companies, Mr Hichilema said they must take serious time to understand the country’s priorities and how a project could be adapted to feed into these, for example, by using local contractors and creating jobs.
“The benefits that can be secured beyond revenues are too often neglected,” he said.
Mr Hichilema spoke alongside the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Invest Africa Rob Hersov, Chairman of Credit Suisse Securities Rick Menell and CEO of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank Roberts Orya.
The annual Mining Indaba is held in Cape Town and brings together more than 7,000 delegates from 100 nations to discuss business opportunities in the sector.
Notable speakers at the event include the CEOs of large companies such as Rio Tinto, Ashanti Gold and Vedanta, financiers and various ministers from across the continent.