Government Must Take Advantage of High Copper Prices – Sinkamba

President for the Green Party, Peter Sinkamba, has suggested that the government must take advantage of rising copper prices on the London metal exchange and enable the mining sector to export more of the metal.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Ndola on Thursday, Mr Sinkamba explained that he believed this would help to restart the economy, with the mining sector contributing to almost 80% of exports and almost 10% of the total economy. 

In the interview, Mr Sinkamba also mentioned a marginal stability in the Kwacha against major currencies in the first quarter of 2021. He believed this was a result of the high prices of copper on the international market.

“Copper prices have gone up on the international market, this means that Zambia must produce and sell more minerals to prevent the Kwacha from depreciating,” he said.

The interview was held on the same day which the government halted copper production at Konkola Deep due to a lack of funds following their decision to liquidate the mine.

Photo: Lusaka Times