HH directs Mopani, KCM to prioritise youth contracts

President Hakainde Hichilema has issued a firm directive to the managements of Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) to significantly increase business and supply contracts awarded to Zambian youths. Addressing a charged crowd during a campaign rally in Mufulira on the Copperbelt Province, President Hichilema stressed that driving youth economic participation and local empowerment remains central to the government's overarching national development strategy. The directive seeks to ensure that wealth generated from the country's rich mineral endowments directly benefits local communities, particularly the younger demographic grappling with unemployment. The announcement comes at a critical time when mining houses on the Copperbelt are restructuring and ramping up production following years of ownership and operational uncertainties. Major assets like KCM and Mopani have historically relied on established, large-scale international contractors, often leaving local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and youth-led cooperatives struggling to break into the lucrative mining supply chain. By pushing for preferential contracting, the administration aims to dismantle structural barriers that have traditionally locked inexperienced or under-capitalized young entrepreneurs out of heavy industrial procurement. Economic analysts and youth advocacy groups have long argued that sustainable poverty reduction in mining towns requires deliberate policy interventions to foster local content. While the state has previously instituted broad local-ownership frameworks, translating these guidelines into practice at the mine-face has faced persistent implementation bottlenecks. President Hichilema's direct instruction is intended to signal a renewed political will to enforce local participation targets, compelling mining corporations to carve out specific work packages for youth-owned entities in areas such as general maintenance, transport, auxiliary services,