By JOHN SAKALA
Chingola senior citizen Mike Milner has implored both government and Chingola residents to be realistic with themselves and accept Chinese investors to takeover Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).
Speaking with The Independent Observer in an interview, Mr Milner said Chinese are the ones with money and capacity to revamp the run down mine in Chingola.
He said KCM has been run down such that open pit has only about two running Halpak machines against the 15 which used to be operational in those days.
“What we only need to do is to put credible Zambians on the negotiations table to negotian for best conditions of service for the employees, best corporate social responsibility projects and best deals for suppliers and contractors.
“At the moment I don’t see any other investor who can come and takeover KCM with its indebtedness and the way it’s run down other than Chinese investors,” he said.
Mr Milner said he has lived in Chingola for many years and he has never seen levels of poverty in the district hitting current levels.
One of the bidders that has taken keen interest in taking over KCM is China Nonferous Mining Corporation (CNMC).
So far CNMC has done its three days due diligence to assess if KCM is a viable project.
And reports indicate that CNMC is super excited to take over KCM and revamp it, clear all debts and recruit more employees.
