30 April 2009
editorial
ON the eve of Labour Day which falls tomorrow, we would like to reiterate what has become a singsong in the last few weeks - that demonstrations over job losses will not offer a solution to the current problems.
Those who keenly follow world events will know that Zambia is not the only country, nor is it the first country to have become a casualty arising from the effects of the global economic crunch.
We have read how thousands of miners in Congo DR have been laid off, how General Motors in the United States has had to retrench workers in the wake of sagging global economic fortunes.
It is, therefore, a fallacy for anyone, be it a politician or an economist in this country to blame the Government for the job losses and incite people to demonstrate over the same.
What is most worrying, however, is the calibre of some opposition politicians who are failing to interpret world events and explain the effects to the people in simple terms.
Must it be driven down their throats that we are living in a globalised world and our fates have become intertwined, whether one lives in Europe or in Zambia?
What this means is that what affects the American economy has a direct effect on the local economy, leading to what we are now terming the global economic crisis.
The global economic crunch has led to a slump in metal prices on the international market, thus leading to a reduced demand for minerals such as copper and cobalt.
Most of us know that mining has been the mainstay of the economy and any upward or downward movements of prices of copper will affect us either positively or negatively.
In this case, we have been affected negatively because mines have had to scale down on their activities, leaving them with little option but to retrench their workers.
However, it is not all doom and gloom as we have seen companies like Mopani Copper Mines assuring that it has shelved plans to put the mine on care and maintenance as earlier planned.
Mopani is re-evaluating an untapped ore body with a potential of 100 million tonnes of ore located below the existing Nkana South and Central shaft ore bodies.
The announcement by Mopani is a relief to some workers that were earmarked for retrenchment.
We have said before that the global economic crisis is a passing phase and soon copper prices will start rising on the international market. This is what any well-meaning leader is supposed to be telling the people.
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