Bloomberg and Reuters Lusaka
Konkola Copper Mines has apologised to the president of Zambia after the country revoked the work permit of its chief executive.
Kishore Kumar, who started as chief executive in August, would not be allowed back into the country, Information and Broadcasting Minister Mwansa Kapeya said on Sunday.
Zambia cancelled the work permit after Konkola said it would retrench 1 529 workers. President Michael Sata also said the government would cancel the company’s licence if it fired any workers.
On Friday the state-owned Daily Mail reported Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda as saying that Kumar had told him the president’s remarks were “mere rhetoric”.
Konkola, the country’s biggest investor, said yesterday that it “wishes to unreservedly apologise to the president of the republic of Zambia and the nation for the unfortunate remarks” published in the media.
Reuters reported that the cancellation of the visa was prompted by the dismissal of a smaller group of employees.
It quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Moses Suwali as saying: “He went ahead to fire 76 workers and left the country when he was supposed to meet government officials to discuss the planned retrenchments.”
Konkola disputed this, saying the 76 were contractors whose employment period had lapsed. It also said Kumar had left Zambia for a “scheduled” business trip in South Africa.
Bloomberg reported that the Times of Zambia on Thursday last week reported the company had fired 76 workers with effect from September 19, under the headline “KCM defies Sata”.
Konkola “fully respects” Sata’s directive not to fire any workers and the reports of dismissals were inaccurate, the company said yesterday.
The revocation of Kumar’s permit was a personal issue with an individual, and the government still “fully supports” Konkola, Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma said in an interview yesterday..
Earlier, he told reporters that the government was putting together a task team to investigate the operational problems at the company.
Konkola is owned by Vedanta Resources, an Indian oil and gas and mining conglomerate listed in London. It bought Konkola a decade ago after the previous owner, Anglo American, left Zambia.
In addition to his role at Konkola, Kumar is the chief executive of Vedanta’s Africa base metals business, which operates zinc mines in South Africa and Namibia. He also oversees the company’s Copper Mines of Tasmania unit.
In June the company reversed a decision to fire 2 000 workers after holding talks with the government and unions.
Konkola says the latest proposed cuts are necessary because of a decline in the grade of copper in the ore it mines, low prices for the metal and poor worker productivity. Vedanta forecasts the Zambian unit to produce 140 000 tons of copper this fiscal year, which ends in March next year.
“You need to have regard for the authorities,” Kapeya said.
“The government said you just can’t be terminating employment without giving a specific reason.”
A Konkola spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified, declined to comment. Kumar did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
The Konkola row is not the first to suck in Sata, who swept to power two years ago on promises to defend workers’ rights and bring foreign investors to heel.
The government threatened last month to shut Shoprite stores after the South African retailer fired 3 000 workers who went on strike over pay. Shoprite subsequently backtracked on the sackings.