CURB CHEATING IN MINERAL EXPORTS, GOVT URGED

By PETER SICHALI OVERNMENT should quickly come up with a marshall plan to curb cheating by mines because it is losing millions of Kwacha through illegal export of Emeralds and other precious minerals, a mining expert Danny Mwila has said. And Mr Mwila said the Mines and Minerals Development Act should be amended to restrict …

CURB CHEATING IN MINERAL EXPORTS, GOVT URGED
By PETER SICHALI OVERNMENT should quickly come up with a marshall plan to curb cheating by mines because it is losing millions of Kwacha through illegal export of Emeralds and other precious minerals, a mining expert Danny Mwila has said. And Mr Mwila said the Mines and Minerals Development Act should be amended to restrict sale of precious minerals to Government. He said some dealers exporting minerals were not paying taxes, hence Government losing out revenue. Mr Mwila said the Mines and Minerals Act in its current state ha loopholes for illegal export of minerals. He said the Act should make Government the sole buyer of emeralds and other precious stones for the country to get the full benefits. “Government should amend the Act to make Government sole buyer of emeralds to curtail illegal export,” Mr Mwila said. He said currently, the Mines Act allows dealers to sell their emeralds without proper monitoring and therefore, Government should heighten monitoring of mining activities. Mr Mwila said the ministry should monitor license holders as one of the measures to address illegal mining and export of minerals.