MINES and Minerals Development Minister Christopher Yaluma has warned Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) against effecting its threatened retrenchments, saying the Government will not allow even a single job cut.
Mr Yaluma says Government had been considerate enough to allow mining firms to lay off staff when the price of copper dipped drastically two years ago, but there is currently no justification for Mopani, or any other mining firm, to be threatening to retrench a single worker now that the price of copper has rebounded markedly.
MCM is in a deadlock with Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) over new electricity tariffs being levied on mining companies, a situation which has seen CEC reducing power supply to Mopani’s operations.
On Tuesday, with CEC and Zesco holding their ground, the stand-off devolved into a crisis threatening the jobs of thousands of workers after Mopani officially indicated its intention to lay off  4,700 miners to the labour commissioner if the impasse was not quickly resolved.

YALUMA

Mr Yaluma delivered a feisty response, telling a media briefing he called in his (Malole) constituency in Kasama on Tuesday night that there was no justification for the threatened lay-offs by Mopani.
“The Government’s position is that no single retrenchment will be allowed at Mopani. We went through a painful period during low copper prices which forced President Edgar Lungu to take a painful decision to allow mining companies to retrench, but this time around we will not bend to a repeat of what happened two years ago now that copper prices on the international market are performing well,” the minister said.
Mr Yaluma said the Government was willing to dialogue with Mopani to settle the matter amicably to avoid disruptions to its operations because it appreciated its contribution to the country’s economy, but its gesture was not being reciprocated.
He warned that there was no chance of  Government   climbing down on the new tariffs, not when ordinary citizens were already complying.
“Zesco is failing to provide quality power because tariff rates cannot support expansion. We have been subsidising the mines for a long time but now let us move to cost-reflective tariffs which needed the support of investors in the country,” he said.
Mr Yaluma, who described threats by Mopani to retrench workers as uncalled-for, said with the good performance of the commodity, prices on the international market, the Government expected stability in the mining industry.

He said the impasse should be resolved quickly to maintain stability in the mining sector while urging trade unions to appreciate Government efforts.
Mr Yaluma also said the country was attractive to investment in the mining sector because of the business-friendly policy regime.
“Zambia is still an attractive mining investment destination looking at a number of enquiries and on-going mining explorations in the country,” the minister said.
CEC has, meanwhile, accused MCM of deliberately misleading the nation over the impact of the restricted power supply to its operations, saying this only affected the smelter and not underground operations.
CEC senior manager for corporate communication, Chama Nsabika said it was saddening that MCM remained the only CEC customer refusing to pay the 2017 power prices, stating that, under the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with MCM, there was provision for individually negotiated tariff revisions.
In a statement  released in Kitwe yesterday, Ms Nsabika explained that CEC effected restriction of  power supply to MCM to 94 Mega Watts from their normal uptake of 130MW, which was a reduction of up to 36MW, equating to about 28 per cent of MCM’s normal supply.
Meanwhile, the interim injunction obtained by MCM in the Kitwe High Court was discharged on Tuesday following a successful challenge by CEC and Zesco for some irregularities.
Mopani’s signal to lay off so many workers has been condemned by a number of stake-holders, with Mineworkers Union of Zambia president Chishimba Nkole suggesting the company consider retrenching its well-remunerated expatriate staff first.
Mr Nkole said laying off thousands of local staff would only increase the poverty levels in their communities.
He was backed by National Union for Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) president James Chansa who said it would be unfair for Mopani to retrench such a large number of workers without proper justification. “We are not in an economic crash,” he said.
Copperbelt Minister  Bowman Lusambo  appealed  to  Mopani and CEC  to seriously  consider  discussing the matter  with concerned parties, saying the Government’s  desire was  “not to make Zambians jobless.”
Green Party president Peter Sinkamba has urged Government to invoke its golden share from MCM, the largest private-sector employer in Kitwe and Mufulira, over its threatened job cuts.
The Energy Forum Zambia said notwithstanding the existing Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), MCM should pay the new tariffs because the increase in electricity was caused by the implementation of Government policy of subsidy removal on both fuel and electricity.
Forum chairperson Johnstone Chikwanda said the subsidy removal meant Zesco had, in turn, to hike electricity tariffs, leaving CEC with no choice but to increase the price of power it supplied to its clients in the mining industry.
“Our appeal to Mopani is that they should look at this matter as being beyond CEC. That’s why CEC may have found it a challenge to implement the new tariff according to agreed terms,” Mr Chikwanda said