Smash Media Watch.

30/04/2026

*Investment Continues to Flow into Zambia Due to Mining Policy Consistency*

*By Charles Musonda*

Zambia’s mining sector is once again asserting itself as a serious global investment destination, and the latest milestone by KoBold Metals at Mingomba is not an isolated event. It is part of a broader and unmistakable trend. The ground-breaking of the first of four shafts at the Mingomba underground mine on April 29, 2026 signals more than just a project launch. It signals a return of confidence, a restoration of credibility, and a firm rebuttal of the increasingly lazy narrative that Zambia’s mining boom is driven by selective favoritism.

Backed by global heavyweights including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, KoBold Metals has spent over four years investing in Zambia, deploying artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics to unlock mineral potential. The discovery of the Mingomba deposit is a testament not just to technology, but to a jurisdiction that allows long-term, high-risk capital to operate with confidence. With a projected investment exceeding USD 3 billion by 2031 and a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes of copper annually, Mingomba is set to become one of Zambia’s flagship mining assets.

Speaking at the launch, Hakainde Hichilema declared that Zambia is “open for business” and emphasized that the sinking of the Mingomba shaft demonstrates that the country has returned to the “champions league” of global mining investment. This is not political rhetoric. It is a statement grounded in observable capital flows.

Let us be clear. Investment in Zambia’s mining sector has never been the preserve of any single company, nor has it ever been determined by proximity to political authority. To suggest that large-scale capital inflows into the sector are the product of relationships with government is not only misleading, it exposes a fundamental misunderstanding of how global mining capital operates. This is not a playground for political favouritism. It is a highly competitive, risk-sensitive industry where billions of dollars are committed only after exhaustive technical, financial, and regulatory scrutiny.

Serious investors do not deploy capital on the basis of who is in State House or which executive enjoys perceived access. They respond to hard fundamentals. These include the quality and scale of mineral deposits, the stability and predictability of the fiscal regime, the credibility of institutions, and the assurance that policies will not shift arbitrarily after investments have been sunk. Zambia’s appeal has always rested on these structural factors, not on transient political alignments.

If anything, history offers a far more balanced and factual perspective. Zambia has always attracted serious mining capital whenever policy stability prevailed. During the administration of Rupiah Banda, the USD 2.1 billion investment in Sentinel Mine by First Quantum Minerals stood as the largest single mining investment since the Kariba Dam era. That investment had nothing to do with political favoritism. It was anchored on a predictable policy framework.

Conversely, when Zambia deviated from this path, the consequences were immediate and severe. The period characterized by over 18 abrupt policy changes sent shockwaves through the investment community, stalling capital inflows and undermining confidence. Investors do not fear taxation. They fear unpredictability. They do not reject regulation. They reject inconsistency.

What the current administration has done over the past four years is not revolutionary. It is restorative. Since the liberalisation of the economy in 1991, Zambia’s strongest asset has been its relative policy stability. The government of President Hichilema has simply returned the country to that baseline. Stable, not perfect. Competitive, though not necessarily superior to all jurisdictions. But crucially, predictable.

The results are now speaking louder than political noise. Beyond Mingomba’s USD 3 billion commitment to be actualized in 2031, Zambia has witnessed a sequence of major investments that collectively dismantle the myth of selective attraction. Barrick Gold is injecting over USD 2 billion into the Lumwana Super Pit. Sinomine Resource Group has committed USD 600 million to the Kitumba project in Mumbwa. Kansanshi’s USD 1.25 billion expansion is already underway. These are not isolated transactions. They are coordinated signals from the global mining industry that Zambia is once again investable.

KoBold Metals President Kurt House underscored the scale of ambition, confirming the company’s long-term commitment to Zambia’s copper output. Meanwhile, CEO Mfikeyi Makayi revealed that over 600 jobs have already been created, with ongoing exploration for lithium and nickel. This is critical. It positions Zambia not just as a copper giant, but as a future player in the broader critical minerals’ ecosystem.

The diplomatic and economic implications are equally significant. Michael Gonzales noted that the investment will create jobs, transfer skills, and empower local businesses, while also strengthening bilateral ties between Zambia and the United States. This is what credible policy attracts. Not just capital, but strategic partnerships.

At the local level, leadership is aligned. Elisha Matambo and Paul Kabuswe both emphasized that the project reflects renewed investor confidence. Meanwhile, ZCCM Investment Holdings, through Board Chair Phesto Musonda, confirmed a 20 percent stake in Mingomba with ambitions to increase it to 25 percent. This is not passive participation. It is strategic national positioning.

However, policy consistency must now translate into deeper economic inclusion. President Hichilema’s call for strict implementation of the local content policy is not optional. It is essential. Mining must not remain an enclave industry. It must evolve into a catalyst for broad-based economic transformation. Supplier development, industrial parks, and skills transfer must move from rhetoric to measurable outcomes.

The truth is uncomfortable for some. Zambia’s mining resurgence is not built on favoritism. It is built on fundamentals. Stability, predictability, and resource potential. The same fundamentals that have historically attracted Anglo American, Glencore, and others are once again at play. Zambia is not discovering investment attractiveness. It is rediscovering it.

And as long as policy discipline is maintained, the flow of capital will not only continue. It will accelerate.

12/03/2026

*Given Lubind's Pamodzi Alliance is a Political Project Stillborn at Birth*

*By Smart Banda*

By any sober measure of political organisation and electoral timing, the recently announced PF Pamodzi Alliance appears less like a strategic rebirth and more like a confused political experiment destined for irrelevance.

From its very conception, the alliance carries the unmistakable traits of a project formed in desperation rather than in strength.

It is a coalition emerging not from unity of purpose, but from fragmentation, mistrust, and leadership fatigue.

At the centre of this initiative is Given Lubinda, a figure whose political longevity is not matched by organisational effectiveness.

Leadership in modern politics demands clarity of vision, coalition-building skill, and the ability to command both grassroots loyalty and elite strategic confidence.

Lubinda’s record suggests limitations on all three fronts. He has struggled to assert coherent authority even within his own political camp.

The Patriotic Front, once a formidable electoral machine, has steadily drifted into internal quarrels, factional manoeuvres, and ideological confusion.

The emergence of yet another alliance under his stewardship does not signal renewal. It signals institutional exhaustion.

More fundamentally, the political terrain has already shifted beyond Lubinda’s reach. The opposition landscape that once revolved around a unified Tonse Alliance has splintered into competing power centres.

Some elements have gravitated toward alternative Tonse configurations, while others have found refuge in parallel formations associated with figures such as Makebi Zulu.

These factions represent more than personal rivalries. They are symptoms of a deeper loss of strategic direction within the former ruling establishment.

When political actors begin to multiply alliances instead of consolidating them, they inadvertently demonstrate their inability to command broad consensus.

The critical question therefore arises: how can two competing Tonse-inspired formations, each claiming legitimacy and grassroots support, realistically converge to challenge an incumbent government that has entrenched itself institutionally and electorally?

Political history offers a blunt answer. Fragmented opposition coalitions rarely defeat organised incumbencies. They dilute messaging, divide resources, and confuse voters.

The Pamodzi Alliance thus risks becoming yet another layer of political clutter rather than a vehicle of national mobilisation.

Timing also works decisively against this new formation. Electoral cycles reward preparation, not improvisation. Building a credible alliance capable of mounting a nationwide challenge requires years of ideological alignment, candidate grooming, and grassroots consolidation.

Launching a new political platform so close to a general election resembles the flogging of a political dead horse.

It may generate temporary headlines and emotional nostalgia, but it seldom translates into structured electoral momentum.

Equally problematic is the overreliance on symbolism from the past. Invoking historical party icons or emotional narratives cannot substitute for contemporary policy alternatives.

Zambia’s electorate has evolved. Young voters, urban professionals, and economically strained communities are increasingly motivated by tangible governance proposals rather than liberation-style rhetoric.

An alliance that appears rooted in past glory rather than future solutions risks alienating the very demographic blocs that decide modern elections.

In essence, the Pamodzi Alliance enters the political arena already burdened by weak leadership credibility, fragmented opposition loyalties, and poor strategic timing.

24/12/2024

23/12/2024

HOW TO CHECK FOR ECZ RESULTS ON MOBILE PHONE !!!!!!!!!!
You can check for the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) results using your Mobile Phone through the following procedure;
1. Open the Message Pad on your Mobile Phone
2. Type the Full Examination Number (Leave Space)
3. Type Examination Year (Leave Space)
4. Type Examination Grade and then
5. Send to 8383
*FOR EXAMPLE: 7*
181013476812 2023 G7
send to
8383
*FOR EXAMPLE: G9*
181013476812 2023 G9
send to
8383
The SMS Service is available on all the Networks in Zambia- that is *ZAMTEL & MTN* at a cost of K4 only for each successful transmission.