Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
World Bank Country Director Kundhavi Kadiresan
The World Bank says Zambia needs to design fiscal policies that ensure fair revenue to the government whilst also encouraging private sector investment.
Speaking during the release of the 5th Zambia Economic Brief titled “Making Mining Work for Zambia: The Economic, Environmental and Health Nexus of Zambia’s Copper Mining Economy” in Lusaka today, World Bank Country Director Kundhavi Kadiresan says mining being an important source of tax revenue, foreign currency, and jobs for the people of Zambia, it is important that decisions made are conducive for sustainable growth of the sector and national wealth.
Ms Kadiresan adds that tax regimes ought to also consider the stage at which a mine is in its life cycle and how revenue could be affected by price fluctuations on the global market.
She says this also requires that Government has adequate capacity to deliver on all these issue and that the mining companies take part and disclose the necessary long term planning information required to undertake the necessary analysis.
And World Bank mining Specialist and co-author of the Brief Martin Lokanc says it is critical that governance systems mitigate the environmental and health spillovers from mining especially where local populations are more vulnerable to these impacts due to poverty.
And the Bank’s senior country Economist for Zambia and co-author of the Brief Philip Schuler says the main challenge the World Bank sees for Zambia is strengthening fiscal policy so it firmly buoys inclusive growth and poverty reduction.