ACTING President Rupiah Banda has pledged to revive the emerald and other precious metal mining industries in Lufwanyama District and create more than 4,000 jobs.

Mr Banda has also declared that he will be willing to step down if Zambians decided to vote against him in the October 30 presidential election and other candidates should equally be willing to accept the results, whichever way they went.

He said yesterday that Lufwanyama District on the Copperbelt faced numerous problems, chief among them, the lack of jobs.

He was addressing a campaign rally at Kalumbwa High School grounds in Lufwanyama yesterday morning.

Mr Banda said he was aware that over 400 mining licences had been issued for emerald mining and that just about five mines were operational.

He said the rest were just licences on paper and no activity was taking place because the owners lacked funding to commence mining operations.

"Those four or five that are functioning belong to foreigners and the over 400 licences are owned by Zambians," he said.

Mr Banda said the Zambian owners lacked funding to operate the mines and that once elected, he hoped to change this situation.

He said he would work with the mine owners and various groups involved in the industry, to ensure that the mines were opened and jobs were created.

"You live in a district that is rich in mineral resources and therefore you need a government that will tell you how it will exploit those resources for your benefit," he said.

Mr Banda said Government realised that the foreigners that were successfully running the other emerald mines were doing so because they easily sourced funds from their countries of origin and that his administration would do the same for Zambian miners.

He said he planned to have more investment in the mines so that more were opened to exploit the abundant mineral resources and that he would continue to promote good agricultural policies.

And Mr Banda said he was prepared to accept Thursday's election results even if they went against him.

He said those contesting the presidency should accept that there would be only one winner after the election and that it was unfair to refuse the results.

"I am willing to stand down and accept the verdict of the Zambian people and I urge other candidates to come out and declare the same thing," he said.

Mr Banda said those opposed to accepting the results if they lost, should come out in the open and declare the suspicions or fears they had before the election got underway.

He said it was not too late for them to bring out the issue they wanted resolved.

"Let them call us to any public place, involve the church and security wings and tell us how they think the elections will be rigged," he said.

Mr Banda said these were not the first elections that the country was conducting and that there were procedures to follow in the entire process, so that no one came up with excuses when they lost.

He said if people wanted to contest elections, they should be ready to accept the results.

And area Member of Parliament Lwipa Puma said Government was building a high school, a hospital and police station at Lufwanyama Boma and it should be given further mandate to complete the developmental projects.

Dr Puma said contractors had already been identified and that the works would soon commence.

Some of those accompanying the acting president were Defence Minister George Mpombo, MMD chairman for Agriculture Maybin Mubanga, Former Information minister Vernon Mwanga and United Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota.