List of Prominent Zambians For A "Windfall Tax" On Mining

This post is regularly updated with quotes from leading analysts and public figures urging the government to reintroduce the windfall tax. Please scroll to the bottom to see the latest contributor  :

"It is an injustice for the government to only collect US$ 77.6 million from copper exports valued at US$2.9 billion. And I do not see that the mines themselves in their heart of hearts would consider it an injustice to pay extra more" 

- Andrew Sardanis (Author, A Venture in Africa)

“Why would any patriotic citizen or leader stop that windfall tax? That issue is so crucial such that the civil society and ordinary citizens will continue to argue they must impose that tax...I am also urging Parliament to reintroduce this topic and even if they get defeated, they must ask for a division and we must know which people are supporting the government over this failed and imprudent manner of taxing the mines. They should be named during the campaigns that these are the people who refused to have taxes imposed on the mines and let them go to the Copperbelt and campaign on that basis.” 

- Bob Sichinga (Economic Consultant)

“The government seems to have deliberately chosen to allow Zambians to continue wallowing in poverty. They are not showing that they are listening to the people. The copper that is being mined will run out one day. Even the investors whom they are being protective about, look at the poor types of jobs and wages that they are giving our people. If they say they won't re-introduce windfall taxes because this would scare away investors, in whose interest are these investors existing if Zambians cannot get any meaningful benefits from their investments?"

- Patrick Mucheleka (Executive Director, CSPR)

"His attitude that he doesn’t care and no more questioning of removal of windfall tax, is retrogressive. He is a President who does not care about the welfare of his people. The wealth of his country is taken away by other people"

- Fr Patrick Chibuye (Mpika Catholic Diocese)

Update (19 November) :

"It has become a joke in the West that foolish Zambians will give you everything you ask for while they humiliate themselves by walking naked. This quote is from a so-called good investor in Zambia....I have heard numerous rubbish from the government that if they increase the taxes, they will deter investors coming to Zambia. This is nonsense and a sign of lack of ability as they do not grasp the world climate on the economy...."

"So the prices will keep high and going up. The newcomers will be many, perhaps we, ourselves under ZCCM-IH can join or takeover and approach the mining sector as a business this time. If somebody tells you the investors will pack up and go from Zambia, they are either making false statements or they simply do not understand the word economics especially as it relates to supply and demand of copper in the open-market.."

"Nobody will do it for us. Before, we gave everything to the British and now it is the so called "new investors". Good investors with a heart will accept tax of eight per cent on royalty and 25 per cent on windfall. I will bring in another local tax for local communities of two per cent on mineral rights that goes directly to the development of the Copperbelt and other areas. For investors, these are peanuts, but mean a lot to us Zambians. We are rich on paper but still run a kitchen economy. Why?"

- Prof Clive Chirwa (Bolton University)

Update (26 November) :

"This is scandalous, to say the least, to get less than ten per cent of the total revenue from a commodity which is not replaceable. What these people who are calling for windfall tax are saying is very important. Let Honourable Musokotwane forget the name ‘windfall tax’. If they are so scared and are afraid of windfall tax because it came in Mwanawasa’s speech, because it came in Magande’s budget, let them find other names that are suitable to their ears and their tongues, as long as it earns more money out of what is being extracted and leaving holes for us.."

- Ng'andu Magande (Former Finance Minister)

Update (26 November) :

"It is hard to understand why Dr Musokotwane is coming out so strongly against the re-introduction of windfall tax when that is what Zambians want. In fact, I have not heard any mining company oppose windfall tax as strongly as Musokotwane and President Rupiah Banda"

- Sibanze Simuchoba (Lawyer)

Update (26 December) :

"The windfall tax should be reinstated with some modifications to accommodate the concerns expressed by mining companies but not to the detriment of Zambians...Zambia should get a fair share, 50/50 share because we are partners with these investors. Zambia’s contribution is the resources, and the investor’s contribution is the investment....f this is what he said, I am sorry to say that it was a misrepresentation of facts. To the best of my knowledge, at no time did president Mwanawasa make a decision to scrap the windfall tax. What had happened was that the mining companies did not object to the windfall tax. They had concern with the method of calculating that tax"

- Jack Kalala (Former State House Special Assistant)

Update (2 January 2011) :

“The MMD under president Mwanawasa made some reforms with the introduction of the minerals taxation Act which introduced the windfall tax, but with Rupiah’s arrogance, calls for the re-introduction of the windfall tax are falling on deaf ears...”

- Hon Charles Milupi (ADD President)

Update (4 January 2011):

“Granted they are in power today, they should make sure they do according to the will of the Zambian people who put them there... In fact, the Zambian people are the owners of the land and the copper. If they make a decision which is not in favour of Zambians, then this should be justification to kick them out this year when the election comes because they have failed to do the will of the electorate....It is sad that this irresponsible government of the MMD must continue to argue that we will benefit through the corporate tax and not the windfall tax....We in the PF are saying posterity will judge these people harshly and those who will not survive will be hiding in shame.”

Emmanuel Chenda (PF National Treasurer)

Updated (8 January 2011):

"Can you imagine Nigeria is a far much greater economy than Zambia but they have introduced windfall tax on their oil, but here we don’t have? The people in front of us (leaders), they have eyes but they can’t see, or they can see but are not just interested...They are indifferent, because if we have more money we will put up another university in Namushakende. We will build bridges. People are living in squalor in Misisi; we will build new houses as our friends are doing in other countries. But somebody is sitting in an air conditioned office at the Ministry of Finance and says ‘we can’t collect windfall tax’, and the President is watching."

Edith Nawakwi (Former Finance Minister)

Updated (13 January 2011) :

“I know it is important to safeguard investments but the large corporations should also not be allowed to milk the country instead of helping it to grow....If they the government don’t like the word windfall tax, let them replace it. It doesn’t matter if they change the name, but whatever they will come up with should translate in increasing revenue collections to improve the lives and welfare of the people.”

Love Mutesa (Ambassador, Chairman CUTS International - Zambia)

Updated (19 January 2011) :

“We pushed for the introduction of windfall tax in 2008 because we realized that it was time for Zambia to benefit from its on mineral wealth but the government thinks otherwise and believes that we can still make enough money from variable taxes, which are not enough because miners pay a fraction.”

Dr Saviour Chishimba (President, UPP)

Updated (11 February 2011) :

"This report is very damning on the part of the mines and should be seen as a wake-up call to government....And this should not be politicized. This report means the problem may not only be confined to Mopani, but it maybe symptomatic of more complex, much longer and wider problems in the mining sector. Although this report maybe preliminary, it shows the inadequacies of our tax system.

The government has not really, maybe them mines, realise that compliance to the country’s tax policy is important....When you had the former president late Mwanawasa announce the windfall tax, a number of them foreign mining firms refused to pay. Now, you are talking about the government negotiating with the mines to pay that tax obligations. Where do you hear negotiations on that policy? Now, they are even refusing to have them auditors access to valuable information.

In light of the revelations of the audit, the windfall tax is the only tax that can secure what the government can get"

- Professor Oliver Saasa

Update (13 February 2011):

"If not properly checked, multinational companies such as Mopani and many other mines will continue to under invoice and under price for purpose of tax avoidance and evasion. So it is time to come up with a tax regime that is easier to enforce and collect revenue and also to compel the mines to do more on corporate social responsibility since copper is a waste asset and soon we shall very negative environmental liabilities"

- Dr Fred Mutesa (ZED President)

"The unpleasant thing is that we have lost money because of the adamancy by Situmbeko and Mwale who insist that the mines are not making profit. In 2008 during debates to amend the mines and minerals Bill, I proposed the establishment of a Minerals Accountability Directorate which should monitor from extraction to finished products and come up with independent figures and then advise ZRA on how much to collect as revenue since ZRA lacks capacity to genuinely tax the mines."

- Hon Mwenya Musenge (Nkana Constituency)

Update (16 February 2011):

"This government's tax regime is not providing enough [revenue]. I am condemning the investors for failing to even pay what is due to Zambians...This high price of copper at US$10, 000 per tonne will only be there for a short time and after that the Zambians will have nothing to show what they benefited from it. We need to have something to show to our children when copper is gone that this is what we built from the copper taxes."

- Hon Yamfwa Mukanga (Kantanshi Constituency)

Update (3 March 2011) :

“People are not benefiting enough from the mining sector compared to the people who run these mines. The resources that are obtained from the mining sector are not trickling down to the poor people of Zambia. Out of the whole mining revenue we are only getting about three per cent which is totally unacceptable…Other countries like Chile are getting more than US$40 billion from the mines. That is why we are calling for the windfall tax in order to bring the benefits closer to the people. But what we are dealing with is a government that is siding with the mining companies; a stubborn government that does not want to listen to its people. It is clear that they are not on the side of the Zambian people”

- Hon Wylbur Simuusa (Nchanga Constituency)

Updated (1 October 2011) :

"Allow me to thank God, the genuine church leaders, The Post and the people of Zambia for the success of the just-ended elections. However, there are many things in government that need overhauling promptly. The new government should as soon as possible tackle windfall tax, labour issues, investment policies and decentralisation."

- Father Mwewa (Catholic Church)