LUSAKA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Zambia intends to establish a special purpose vehicle to spearhead the government's investment and trading in mineral resources in the mining sector, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.
Cornelius Mweetwa, the chief government spokesperson, said the decision was made during a Cabinet meeting Monday.
"(The) Cabinet has since found it necessary to establish a special purpose vehicle for investment in the mining sector in order to move away from the dividend payment model for mineral resources and adopt a production-based sharing mechanism to ensure benefits accrue to the people of Zambia beyond statutory obligations," he said in a statement.
Mweetwa, who is also the minister of information and media, said Zambia has been using the dividend payment model, as a business model for investment in the mining assets.
According to him, the implementation of the new business model will allow for the actual sharing of minerals produced and allow the government to negotiate its own prices for minerals.
He also said that this will guarantee revenue from the same of minerals, ensure correct declaration of mineral composition of consignments designated for export and domestic use as well as guarantee availability of raw materials for local companies engaged in value addition. ■
