Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) has failed for the first time to produce its state o accounts for March 31, this year due to non availability of information from investor companies, according to the company secretary’s office Friday.
But then the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) has since ordered the state holding company for the mining industry to publish an interim financial report as it awaits the publication of a consolidated one.
Company secretary Mr Chabby Chabala admitted that ZCCM-IH could not produce consolidated statement of accounts on the due date last March and regretted that this had to be so due to some problems which beset the company, not least lack of information from the investor firms.
”We regret the delay but this had to do with the non availability of information and data from the investor firms,” Chabala said. At the same time he explained that an insufficient board of directors also contributed to the delay.
Explaining the circumstances further the ZCCM-IH chief legal advisor said delayed receipt of information from the investor firms on their state of financial accounts made it difficult for the accounting staff to compile and publish the final financial report on time.
”Delay of financial statements from the investor firms made it difficult or the accounting staff to come up with the final and consolidated statement of account,” Chabala stated.
Again an insufficiently constituted board of directors where only two are in office after the membership f the other five had expired in July this year meant no-one could fully sanction the audit exercise to come up with the final financial report.
However Chabala expects government to appoint five more directors to fully constitute the board of directors this month-end and the consolidated statement of account to be out on October 31, this year.
