‘EMPOWERMENT FUND FOR GOLD MINERS NEEDED’

By NOEL IYOMBWA GOVERNMENT should come up with an empowerment fund for small-scale gold miners for many Zambians to venture into the business, a mininf expert Danny Mwila has said. Mr Mwila said many Zambians were interested in gold mining but lack skills and finances. He said the government should ensure many Zambians form cooperatives and get trained before being empowered with funds. Mr Mwila said only when Government helps change the mindset of Zambians through training and providing them with the right information would citizens truly benefit from the resource. He observed that most people have obtained mining licences but lack capacity and skills to manage the activity. “A case study of Katete and Sinda shows that some miners have continued to mine illegally because they lack information to form cooperatives.  “Look at the agriculture sector, when farmers are told to form cooperatives, they also give them fertiliser. The question is can the Ministry of Mines give them loans?,” he said. Mr Mwila called on the Ministry of Mines to create mentorship programmes for the miners so that they are prepared for the industry they are going into.