Zambia Miners Request Foreign Auditor for Industry

By Joel ScanlonDec 15 2011

In Zambia the Chamber of Mines has requested the government to appoint a foreign auditor. They added that an independent international auditor will be able to address the concerns that had been expressed by the general public over the honesty of the voluntary declarations of mining companies.

Frederick Bantubonse, the general manager of the Chamber of Mines of Zambia, said that it was imperative that assertions by some parties were addressed and subsequently appreciated. He was speaking in Kitwe when he made the statement.

The request comes after the abolition of the windfall taxes in the country. Mr Bantubonse said that the perception by many people in Zambia seems to be that the abolition of windfall tax means that mining companies have been exempted from paying taxes.

This was not the case at all as the mining companies are paying other taxes such as the company tax, minerals royalty tax and value added tax amongst others. He added that a smaller version of the windfall tax called the variable profit tax was also very much in evidence. This tax kicked in to effect each time the operating profits of a company went over 8%. So he felt it was important for investors and the common man to know the truth via an independent audit from an independent foreign auditor.