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- Minister of Mines and Mineral Development of Zambia, Paul Kabuswe came heavily on the illicit financial flows in the mining sector
- He said that there was an urgent need to prevent such illegal activities to generate more revenue from the industry for development works
- Mining is Zambia’s dominant industry and mainstay of the economy.
- it contributes over 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and close to 70 percent of foreign exchange earnings comes from mining.
Minister of Mines and Mineral Development of Zambia, Paul Kabuswe came heavily on the illicit financial flows in the mining sector. He said that there was an urgent need to prevent such illegal activities to generate more revenue from the industry for development works.
Mining is Zambia’s dominant industry and mainstay of the economy.it contributes over 10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Close to 70 percent of foreign exchange earnings comes from mining. It is estimated that 30 percent of government revenue comes from the mining sector. It also contributes to 8 percent of the employment in the country.
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Privatisation of the mining industry was a milestone in the mining history of the country. The objective was to extend more freedom and tax privileges to the industry. It has helped in ingraining more flexibility and efficiency in the country. Yet, some of the private companies have come under scrutiny for siphoning huge sums of money out of Zambia using a variety of methods.
For instance, a 2009 report by Grant Thornton, which was commissioned by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and a Norwegian consulting group ECON Poyry found irregularities in the accounting system of a few companies. The Zambian Government is in a hurry to mobilise domestic resources to fund various developmental projects. Hence there is the need to seal all the loopholes used in tax evasion. It is expected that soon the government would take some concrete steps towards reported illicit activities of the mining companies.