NO JOB LOSSES, KAMPYONGO ASSURES MINERS

By ROGERS KALERO THE Patriotic Front (PF) will not allow job losses in the mining sector and it took appropriate actions to avert this by ensuring that big mines like Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) were repossessed and given back to Zambians. PF vice-chairman for manifesto, Stephen Kampyongo said at a time the investors in the two giant mining companies had decided to retrench thousands of miners due to their own reasons, the government of President Edgar Lungu decided to repossess the mines and give them back to Zambians as a way of averting job losses Mr Kampyongo was speaking in an interview yesterday at Road View Lodge in Kitwe when he came to re-orient the PF parliamentary candidates on the Copperbelt ahead of the August elections He said the move to repossess the mines and give them back to Zambians was criticised by some opposition parties like UPND because their interest was to see job losses in the mining industry so they could incite miners against the PF government “Yes, we may be facing challenges in various areas, but I can tell you that we are a caring government which always takes appropriate actions on various issues. When the MCM and KCM decided to retrench the miners, we stepped in to avoid job losses.