ECONOMIC Front leader Wynter Kabimba says the three-month suspension of the 2022 negotiations for improved salaries at Konkola Copper Mines might be for purposes of allowing government and Vedanta to conclude negotiations for the company’s come back.

And Kabimba says as the country commemorates Africa Day, government should reflect on whether or not the continued exploitation of Zambia’s minerals by foreign multinational companies is in the interest of citizens.

According to media reports, KCM management and mines unions led by the Mine Workers Union of Zambia have agreed to suspend the 2022 negotiations for improved salaries and resolved to resume after three months.

But in an interview, Tuesday, Kabimba accused the UPND administration of trying to paint a picture that it was not in discussion with Vedanta when there had been a strong relationship between them prior to the elections.

“Vedanta has not yet gotten back to KCM. But if you go back to our earlier discussion, you can see that this is a development that comes from Vedanta’s letter. If you look at that letter, Vedanta said we are going to pay better salaries, we shall give the KCM workers better conditions of service. So my gut feeling is that this three months suspension is for purposes of allowing Vedanta and the government to conclude Vedanta’s come back. So like I said in my earlier comment, there have been discussions between [government and Vedanta]. You can see what we call in law [as] circumstantial evidence, that these discussions have not started now. These are pre-election discussions,” he said.

“UPND made an undertaking or made a deal with Vedanta before elections and now they are trying to blanket Zambians as if Vedanta is talking on its own and government is talking on its own, or the two are speaking in isolation of one another. The truth of the matter is that there has been a relationship, and a very strong relationship between Vedanta and the UPND government prior to elections and this is what you are seeing now. If the unions are been honest, if MUZ is been honest, then it is clear that MUZ has been left out of this Vedanta-UPND deal.”

Kabimba said the government was lying and trying to cover up the fact that they had a deal with Vedanta even prior to the elections.

“So what we are seeing is cherry-picking from Vedanta’s letter. And you see, this development if you have a checklist you will be able to checklist each item that Vedanta said ‘when we get back, we shall do this and we shall do that’ as against Paul Kabuswe’s statement as Minister of Mines where he said ‘if Vedanta wants to come we shall give them conditions’. So the whole thing is falling in place so there is a lot of duplicity here on the part of the UPND government. There is a lot of lying on the part of the UPND government. There is a lot of covering up that UPND have had a deal with Vedanta even prior to elections of August 12, 2021,” he said.

Kabimba claimed that Vedanta would return to KCM on its terms and not that of the government because the UPND owed it after sponsoring the party’s elections.

“Now a government that enters into deals in the manner that UPND is doing things cannot run the country in the interest of its people, never. And I said it before that these international multinational corporations are so strong that they have weakened everybody. They have weakened the unions, they have weakened the workers, they have weakened governments. So they dictate the terms and Vedanta will come back on its terms not the terms of the UPND government because [government] owes Vedanta for their sponsorship of their elections,” he said.

And in a separate interview, Kabimba said as the country commemorates Africa Day, government should reflect on whether or not the continued exploitation of Zambia’s minerals by foreign multinational companies was in the interest of Zambians.

“Tomorrow (today) is Africa Freedom Day, it is important for government and in particular the UPND government which is in power today to reflect on Nkrumah’s statement that political independence without economic independence is meaningless. It is important for the UPND government to reflect on whether or not the continued exploitation of Zambia’s minerals by foreign multinational companies is in the interest of the Zambian people. It is important for the UPND government to reflect as to whether this country can be developed by foreign investors instead of its people. African leaders have a challenge as their country celebrates Africa Freedom Day tomorrow to introspect and really find out convincingly whether or not, or rather what it means for Africa to be free,” said Kabimba.

“What does it mean for Africa to be free? What I have always said as EF president is that firstly, Africa needs unity amongst African countries. There cannot be economic independence if African countries are unable to trade with one another. Africa needs centers of research in technology so that they are able to compete with the west in terms of technology development. Africa needs to produce its own food, it needs to be self-reliant in food production. It must achieve food sovereignty so that it stops going round begging to those that produce food in excesses.”