• The mining sector is the backbone of Chingola and Chililabombwe.
• Without a fully functional KCM, unemployment levels are extremely high.
• The issue of government announcing the way forward with regards to KCM and Mopani Copper Mine as soon as possible is not new.

A consortium of various youth clubs in Chililabombwe on the Copperbelt says the delay by government to address issues surrounding Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) is putting a lot of anxiety on community members.
Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Chililabombwe Vedanta Must Return Community Campaign Movement-Coordinator Chishala Mwamba said the mining sector is the backbone of Chingola and Chililabombwe, therefore without a fully functional KCM, unemployment levels are extremely high.
Mr. Mwamba noted that government’s recent announcement that it will soon address issues regarding KCM and Mopani Copper Mine is not new, as it is something that was promised to be done in the first quarter of 2023 but nothing happened.
“The issue of government announcing the way forward with regards to Konkola Copper Mine and Mopani Copper Mine as soon as possible is of course not new, it is something that was promised to say it will be done in the first quarter of this year and it wasn’t done nevertheless, And it was stated again that it will be done immediately after Easter but it wasn’t done nevertheless.”
“We want by all means that the Minister means so, the new dawn government means so for the people of Zambia. They are negotiating the possible best deal for us but the delay is inevitably worrying the community members, putting a lot of anxiety on the community members,” Mr. Mwamba stated.
He added that now that there is another promise that the issue will be addressed before the end of this week, the Consortium hopes and believes that this time around government will stick to its words and ensure that the announcement is made as soon as possible.
“The backbone of the Copperbelt, the backbone of Chililabombwe and Chingola communities is the mining sector and without a fully functional KCM, things are really bad, unemployment levels are really high and all these other aspects are really daunting on the community members. So we hope and believe that this time around it is going to be done, we hope and believe that this announcement will be made as soon as possible, to the best interest of the community members.”
“We continue to express our confidence in the ability of this government to deliver upon their promises including this one, except it’s just worrying that this has taken a little bit longer than initially expected,” he added.
Recently, government announced that issues surrounding Konkola Copper Mine will be addressed before the end of this week.
According to Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe, mine unions are currently being consulted on the decision government has made.