78 Mining Firms Sign Up to Local Content System

Smart Zambia Institute has revealed that 78 mining companies across the country have now been registered on the Local Content Access System, a platform designed to steer more mining-sector spending towards Zambian-owned businesses.

The registrations follow the signing of Statutory Instrument Number 68 in August last year, which requires a greater share of procurement in the mining industry to be awarded to local suppliers.

Speaking in an interview with ZNBC News, Smart Zambia Institute National Coordinator Percy Chinyama said the firms already on the system include some of the country's largest producers, among them Kansanshi Mine, Konkola Copper Mines, Lumwana Mine and Mopani Copper Mines.

Mr Chinyama said the Institute intends to extend the platform to every mining company operating in Zambia, describing it as part of the wider push to reach the national target of producing three million metric tonnes of copper a year.

He explained that the system works by tracking companies' procurement plans and monitoring the proportion of contracts going to local businesses, ensuring Zambian suppliers secure a fairer share of the opportunities the sector generates.

Compliance, he stressed, is not optional. Adherence to Statutory Instrument Number 68 is a legal obligation for all mining firms, and companies that fail to meet its requirements risk facing penalties.

The initiative forms part of Government's broader local-content agenda, aimed at ensuring that the growth of Zambia's mining industry translates into real jobs, business and wealth for citizens.