Political risk is real......, page-2

A similar thing happened to Tanzania's southern neighbour Zambia in 2015, when the Zambian government was having a dispute with Glencore over tax. The government raised the royalty rates on open pit and UG mining, then big producers start to shut down production. Eventually the pressure of the shutdowns caused the royalty rates to be revised back down and things went more or less back to normal. The mining companies are not innocent victims. To an extent they are the masters of their own destruction by getting to aggressive in their plunder of these countries.

The problems that occurred in 2015 in Zambia, together with the falling copper price and falling local currency are now precipitating wider social unrest. I just read this report (from 7 hours ago) that Zambia's president has just declared a state of emergency. Not good. It's a tricky balancing act for the leaders of some of these nations.Esh

https://qz.com/1022443/sudans-caine...-south-africa-to-supports-the-arts-in-africa/

"Zambia’s president has declared a state of public emergency following a spate of arson attacks that he said threatened “to make the country ungovernable.” The move is set to rile tensions and deepen the cracks in the country’s democracy, which has traditionally been considered one of the most stable in Africa until recently."

President Edgar Lungu said he will seek the approval of the parliament to officially impose the law and order to prevent chaos and economic sabotage. Several parts of Zambia have been targeted with fires recently, including the main market in the capital Lusaka, on Tuesday (July 4). Police also said that some people were planning to vandalize vital installations including bridges and power stations after the blaze, according to Reuters.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the intention of these perpetrators is to make the country ungovernable and as president of this country it is my responsibility to respond to forestall chaos,” Lungu said.