The Movement for Change and Equality (M4CE) has rejected unaccountable nationalisation and unchecked foreign dominance in the mining sector, saying Zambia needs a new model anchored on genuine indigenous ownership.
M4CE president, Kaluba Simuyemba, said historical attempts at nationalisation, particularly under the MMD regime, demonstrated that state ownership without professional management and accountability often led to inefficiency and decline.
Simuyemba said this in a communique issued in Lusaka on Saturday on the true meaning of independence and the unfinished struggle for economic freedom.
He said 62 years after political independence, the commanding heights of the economy, particularly copper wealth, continued to enrich others more than Zambians.
“We fully associate ourselves with the central truth of that statement: Independence was never meant to be merely a change of flag or the singing of a new anthem. It was a struggle for full freedom, political voice and economic power in the hands of Zambians,” Simuyemba stated.
He declared that the second liberation, which he described as liberation from poverty, dependency and economic exclusion, was the defining task of the current generation.
“While the intention of reclaiming national assets was understandable, the outcomes demonstrated that state ownership without professional management, accountability, transparency, and genuine productivity often led to inefficiency, underinvestment, and eventual decline,” Simuyemba stated.
On indigenous ownership, Simuyemba called for genuine Zambian ownership, arguing that the current model was superficial and captured by elites under the UPND regime.
“We demand authentic Zambian and indigenous ownership of the economy, not the superficial or elite-captured version currently witnessed under the UPND regime. True ownership means Zambians holding controlling or significant equity in mines, farms, factories, banks, and technology enterprises, with real decision-making power,” he stated.
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Simuyemba said a nation without genuine indigenous owners of its productive assets remained economically colonised.
He said the party supported progressive and enforceable local content laws that would reserve increasing shares of mining procurement for citizen-owned and citizen-empowered companies, with exclusive reservation of non-core services for Zambians, alongside mandatory supplier development and skills transfer.
Simuyemba also called for deliberate efforts to build Zambian capital through alternative and participatory project financing models grounded in principles of stewardship, integrity, fairness and mutual benefit.
“We call for the deliberate building of Zambian capital through alternative and participatory project finance models grounded in Godly principles and patterns of stewardship, integrity, fairness, and mutual benefit,” he stated.
Simuyemba said exporting raw or semi-processed copper while importing finished goods amounted to an economy of dependency, adding that reliable power, refining capacity and downstream manufacturing should become national priorities.
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