The First Quantum Minerals (FQM) Head of Government Affairs, John Gladstone made mention that Zambia’s current tax regime for the mining sector is unappealing to potential investors more especially when placed along fellow copper mining countries globally.
Among the copper mining countries include Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.
Gladstone was speaking during a panel discussion on “establishing mutually beneficial fiscal regimes” at the just ended Zambian International Mining and Energy Conference and Exhibition (ZIMEC). The conference was held under the theme “Creating an attractive investment framework to catalyse Zambia’s mining and energy sectors.”
“Zambia is hugely rich in natural resources. Zambians deserve to benefit from those resources and the way to do that is to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). With the right tax regime FDI will come, but Zambia must compete against other jurisdictions,” stated Gladstone.
FQM’s Head of Government Affairs emphasised the need for Zambia to have a competitive and stable tax regime in order to attract new foreign investors while promoting existing investments in the mining sector.
Meanwhile, the Zambia Chamber of Mines President, Goodwell Mateyo requested Government to revisit the current tax regime for the sector as it served to deter investment.
Mateyo complained that the industry had been faced with a mining tax regime that left the sector an outlier with higher tax rates compared to peer mining jurisdictions.
Furthermore, Government and the private sector are being urged to seek a framework in which a modern, progressive, developing commodity-based economy could be built.