Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractor’s President Costa Mwaba says the current mining fiscal regime as implemented by the government has had zero benefit to association members and other local businesses and will not yield positive results unless changed.
The 2022 national budget saw the government re-introduce the deductibility of mineral royalty for corporate income tax assessment purposes as a way of attracting investment in the mining sector while the 2023 budget gave relief to the mining sector with a revenue loss to the treasury estimated around k2.8 billion.
In light of this, Mr. Mwaba has urged the government to conduct an audit into the impact of its decision to incentivize the mining sector to understand whether this has trickled down to Zambian businesses or not.
Mr. Mwaba has reminded the government that any mining policies must benefit Zambians, arguing that mine owners have not passed on the benefit of a favorable tax regime to Zambian companies.
He adds that local contractors and suppliers have been stagnant the past few years due to the low productivity of the mining sector compounded by challenges at Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines while the mines in the North West continually give business to foreign entities and other multinationals at the expense of Zambians.
