LUSAKA lawyer Mulambo Haimbe says he does not understand which law Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) provisional liquidator Milingo Lungu is using to split the company into two different entities.

Last week, Lungu split, reorganised and restructured KCM into two subsidiary companies which will come into effect on February 1, 2021 in a bid to increase efficiency, foster optimization and boost business opportunities.

KCM Acting Chief Executive Officer Enock Mponda announced during a briefing that KCM would be split into two companies, namely KCM SmelterCo Limited and Konkola Mineral Resources Limited.

Commenting on the development in an interview, Haimbe said Lungu’s move was not backed by law, adding that he was surprised that a liquidator could go as far as splitting a company.

“I’m not quite sure what law he [Milingo Lungu] is using so it’s actually a little bit difficult for me to even talk about this. I don’t think there is any law he is using, not to my knowledge and also the miners don’t really care as long as he is fighting Vedanta. So, it’s tricky and the tricky part is that when you comment neutrally, you appear to be on Vedanta’s side and you are against the liquidator. But look, in so far as I know, knowing liquidation law to the extent that I do, the liquidator is not there to run the company and deal with concerns and worse off, to split the company into two subsidiaries to run as different entities and all. The role of the liquidator is to dispose of the company, that’s what I know,” Haimbe said.

“So, I don’t understand what authority the liquidator is using to undertake the exercise that he is taking. I don’t understand what he is doing. I’m actually thinking perhaps I need to do a research to see if there is some specific provisions that he is relying on. But the other issue would be the need for transparency in everything they are doing.”

He said there is need for full disclosure in the running of KCM.

“He is operating under the guise of the holding company, which is the public company representing the interests of Zambians in that particular entity. So, at the end of the day, we have not seen any reports, any transparency or any proper explanation of why everything is being done. But it’s important that there is transparency in everything so that we understand as the people of Zambia what is happening to the assets,” said Haimbe.