IF YOU want to wait for your political colours to come and contribute to national development you will wait up to 2080, says mines minister Richard Musukwa.
Musukwa says NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili was invited to contribute to the Mopani Copper Mines discourse because he is a contractor in Mopani.
He said Kambwili’s information was vital to the government delegation that was gathering information from stakeholders prior to engaging Mopani management on the need to see operations beyond the 90 days in which the mining giant has issued a notice to place its mines under care and maintenance.
Kambwili whose company Mwamona Engineering and Technical Services has for a long time been conducting business in Mopani on Wednesday met with ministers led by finance minister Bwalya Ng’andu at Garden Court Hotel in Kitwe before the quartet headed to Mopani for negotiations.
Kambwili was invited by Musukwa together with UPND-aligned critic Bwalya Mufonka, also a long time mining contractor to be part of the audience of contractors and suppliers and the Kitwe and Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday but only managed to show up on Wednesday while Mufonka was not available.
“We invited Mr Kambwili as a contractor in Mopani and we are an inclusive government and since he has been talking about these things why not get to hear what he knows? He is a Zambian and if he has something to contribute to the development of the country he is free to contribute like any Zambian. We will not discriminate. The government of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu will not discriminate anyone who has something to contribute to the well-being of the people but that doesn’t mean we are not in charge. We just want to carry everyone on board,” Musukwa said. “Because if you are waiting for your political colours to come and contribute, you will wait up to 2080.”
Kambwili’s meeting with the four ministers has raised conjecture with many speculating that he is on his way back to the ruling party that he helped found.