COUNTRY IN FOCUS •
ZAMBIA TAKES A BREATH
AFTER LUNGU
Hakainde Hichilema ’ s election victory in August last year has given the Zambian people , and the business fraternity , a glimpse of new hope for Zambia , writes Leon Louw .
The mining industry in Zambia is crushing with vigour again after Hakainde Hichilema ’ s election victory .
Zambia has a chequered history , but the recent election outcome shows there is new hope . At times the country has shown spectacular growth . However , as one of the most prolific producers of copper in the world , Zambia has never really reached its full potential .
Bad governance , nationalisation , expropriation , and corruption have stifled economic development , while the continuous lovehate relationship between the private sector and government has resulted in a trust deficit , which has never been remedied .
Under defeated ex-president Edgar Lungu this trust deficit continued growing wider , and reached its nadir two years ago , when a stringent tax regime resulted in a suicidal deadlock for both parties .
Throughout Lungu ’ s six years of schizophrenic rule , he had been relentless in his attempts to intimidate and influence private investors , especially the mining sector which , historically , has been the governments ’ main source of revenue .
Lungu briefly flirted with resource nationalism as other Zambian presidents before him have done . His threats brought back bad memories of Zambia ’ s disastrous nationalisation programme in the late 1960s , driven by an ambitious and young Kenneth Kaunda .
The result of Lungu ’ s spat with private interest was there for all to see when large multinational mining companies put massive expansion projects on hold , despite the prospects of a new commodity super cycle and a buoyant copper price .
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African Mining • January 2022 • 13 |