( 4 minutes read)
· Zambia Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya N’gandu will present the Mines Budget today.
· The national budget will spell out how the treasury intends to apply the funds raised for the year 2021
Zambia Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya N’gandu will present the Mines Budget today. The national budget will spell out how the treasury intends to apply the funds raised for the year 2021. It will also reveal how the government forecasts to generate revenues through tax and non tax measures, as well as give policy directions and investment priorities for 2021.
The Finance Minister is expected to touch upon revamping Konkola Copper Mines – KCM to bring some credible level of certainty on the future operations of the Chingola and Chililabombwe based Mines.
The Zambian economy very much depends on mining. Copper exports make out over 70% of total exports from Zambia and mining remains the single most important industry to Zambia today.
The Chamber of Mines is expecting the finance minister to announce the removal of non-deductibility mineral royalty so that the mines can return to a situation where they can afford the cost of capital. It is also expecting some level of considerations for its submission for the reduction in the mineral royalty rate itself and for the tax regime
They also expect policy direction on gold mining, establishing of gold reserves and what level of reserves may accrue from this exercise. There are also other base metals like Manganese that offer areas of diversification within the mining industry.
One of Zambia’s biggest macroeconomic challenges has been the perpetual depreciation of the Kwacha. Analysts see the development of gold mining and establishment of gold reserves at Bank of Zambia – BOZ as a viable alternative and supplement to US dollar reserves that could see the Kwacha begin to command resilience.
