Association of Mine Suppliers and Contractors in Zambia says it will begin exposing and taking legal action against mining companies that fail to comply with local content requirements under Statutory Instrument 68 of 2025.
The new law mandates mining firms to give preference to local goods, services and labour. It aims to enhance Zambian participation in the mining value chain, ensure timely payments to suppliers and foster economic growth.
Speaking in an interview with Money News, Association president Costa Mwaba said the organization will actively report cases of non-compliance and pursue legal avenues where necessary to ensure mining firms adhere to the law.
“The law is here to stay and it is very clear. Basically, we are now moving to a stage of naming and shaming those that will not be complying with the SI. We will fish them out and we will call them out,” Mr. Mwaba said.
He added that the association will also act as a complainant in cases where companies fail to meet the requirements.
“The government has already said this is the way it is supposed to be, so we cannot go back and ask them to enforce it again. The law is already there. As far as we are concerned, we just have to act as complainants,” he stated.
“When there is empirical evidence that there is abuse or neglect, we will swing into action and take such matters to court and begin to proceed like that if this situation persists.”
Mr. Mwaba noted that compliance with SI-68 remains a challenge for some mining companies due to procurement practices that have historically favored established foreign suppliers.
“Compliance continues to be a challenge because this SI-68 is coming to address the fundamental issues that we have had for a long time. I will call them legacy issues, where the mines for a long time had preferred suppliers of goods and services,” he explained.
He stressed that many mining companies developed procurement relationships with original equipment manufacturers and international suppliers through long-term agreements.
“To now tell them that this can no longer go on — or if it is to go on, you have to ensure that 20 percent of it goes to local suppliers and contractors — that is where the challenge is,” Mr. Mwaba stressed.
Mr. Mwaba added that the Statutory Instrument also requires mining companies to procure certain goods and services from Zambian firms where they fall under designated categories.
He said mining companies should already be familiar with the regulation because most have legal departments.
“For those that are going to deliberately abrogate the law, there must be consequences. It has to be meted out on some companies so that it sends a strong message and a strong signal,” Mr. Mwaba emphasized.
He further urged mining firms to abandon outdated procurement practices and comply with the local content framework.
“For those mines that are still living in the past where they cannot give access to the association and cannot give access to suppliers and contractors to do business, that story is long gone. They better understand the provisions of the SI and begin to align themselves with it,” Mwaba said.
