By ALICE NACHILEMBE
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development CTPD has urged the government to design and implement policies that enhance mineral value addition strategies that can create linkages with other parts of the economy.
CTPD Senior Researcher Extractives Webby Banda said doing this will ensure cascaded benefits to the state in form of increased revenue generation, employment creation, and technology transfer.
Mr Banda says that mineral resources in Zambia offer a wide range of opportunities to build industries to supply inputs to the mining sector produce key mineral-based feedstocks for other sectors.
He also said mines Manufacture intermediate and finished products for domestic consumption that will promote local and regional economic development.
Mr Banda said the sector also contributes substantially to employment levels.
He said that these benefits are proliferated with value addition strategies. Zambia is endowed with substantial and diverse mineral resources.
“However, the country does not process its minerals into higher-value output resulting in lost gains from value addition processes. Exporting raw mineral resources means denying the country the benefits that come with activities along a fully vertically integrated mineral value chain. These benefits include job creation, tax revenue generation, and spill over economic effects to other industries,” he said.
