1 January 2008
editorial
THE hope in what the intended ZCCM-IH Alberg investment in Kabwe holds for the town as expressed by chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry Wilfred Wonani is understandable.
Mr Wonani, like all the residents of Kabwe welcomes such developments because they portend well for the town.
At its peak, kabwe was a thriving mining town with a history of mining which stretched back to the pre-independence era. When the decline came, it was quick and agonising. Within a short period of time, hundreds of workers found themselves out of jobs as the town's mainstay, mining went under.
To make things worse, even some of the industries that were looked to as the new flag bearers for the town did not survive much longer. Foremost of these was of course the Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles and Zambia Railways which, after concessioning, never really gained its former prominence.
For some time now, the people of Kabwe have had to do with alternative economic activities in order to forge ahead.
It is against this background that any promise of an economic undertaking of substance will galvanise the people of Kabwe in terms of anticipation.
There is no doubt that a mining undertaking of the size that Alberg Mining and Minerals Exploration can put together to revive the lead and zinc mine in Kabwe would have far-reaching benefits for Kabwe and the economy as a whole.
But even as Mr Wonani is expressing the hope of promise in the proposed new undertaking, he is also wary and harbours some anxiety. It is not that when the residents of the town, through the chairman of the chamber of commerce, express any anxiety they are casting a vote of no confidence in the proposed undertaking.
The anxiety expressed by Mr Wonani should be looked at in a particular light. It is not an anxiety that should in any way cast doubts on the standing, nor indeed the capability of the incoming new investors to deliver. It is basically a cautionary reaction arising from past painful experiences in Kabwe and elsewhere.
For this reason therefore, both ZCCM-IH and Alberg should work diligently towards ensuring that the investment they intend for kabwe works out and blooms to full fruition.
Alberg is an old hand at mining in the region and have all the experience required for such a venture.
This, no doubt, is one of the reasons why the firm has been picked by ZCCM-IH as an investment partner. The two must work together to ensure the people of Kabwe do not go through another painful economic disappointment.
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