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'King Cobra' reassures mining firms after Zambia election win
Source: Agencies |
September 24, 2011, Saturday
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ZAMBIAN opposition leader Michael Sata was sworn in as president yesterday after an upset poll victory that ushered in a smooth handover of power in Africa's biggest copper producer.
Sata, 74, swept to victory on the back of voters looking for change in a country that has seen its economy grow but who felt the riches from its mines had not made their way to the people or created enough jobs.
He tried to reassure foreign mining firms their investments would be safe but warned they needed to improve conditions for their Zambian workforce.
"Foreign investment is important to Zambia and we will continue to work with foreign investors who are welcome in the country ... but they need to adhere to the labor laws," Sata said after being sworn in following his upset victory over former leader Rupiah Banda.
Zambians celebrated from before dawn yesterday after Sata was declared the winner, and painted the capital in the green and white colors of his Patriotic Front Party.
"We should not allow violence to separate us. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider and we need to address that. I stand by the promise to change Zambia within 90 days," Sata said, pledging to downsize government and tackle corruption.
Incumbent Rupiah Banda tearfully conceded defeat, saying the people had spoken. His Movement for Multi-party Democracy party has run Zambia since one-party rule ended in 1991.
"Now is not the time for violence and retribution. Now is the time to unite and build tomorrow's Zambia together," he said.
Election monitors from the European Union and regional grouping SADC declared the vote free and fair although the process was marred by violence after protests over the slow release of results.
Sata, nicknamed "King Cobra" because of his sharp tongue, toned down his rhetoric against foreign mining firms in the closing stages of the six-week campaign but his victory could still make investors nervous.
Zambia's kwacha fell 2.9 percent to a 14-month-low of 5,150 against the dollar after Sata's victory.
"Sata's victory will likely usher in a new era for a resource-nationalist mining sector policy," said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, an analyst with DaMina Advisors.
Sata received 1,150,045 votes compared with Banda's 961,796 with 95.3 percent of constituencies counted.
Sata, 74, swept to victory on the back of voters looking for change in a country that has seen its economy grow but who felt the riches from its mines had not made their way to the people or created enough jobs.
He tried to reassure foreign mining firms their investments would be safe but warned they needed to improve conditions for their Zambian workforce.
"Foreign investment is important to Zambia and we will continue to work with foreign investors who are welcome in the country ... but they need to adhere to the labor laws," Sata said after being sworn in following his upset victory over former leader Rupiah Banda.
Zambians celebrated from before dawn yesterday after Sata was declared the winner, and painted the capital in the green and white colors of his Patriotic Front Party.
"We should not allow violence to separate us. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing wider and we need to address that. I stand by the promise to change Zambia within 90 days," Sata said, pledging to downsize government and tackle corruption.
Incumbent Rupiah Banda tearfully conceded defeat, saying the people had spoken. His Movement for Multi-party Democracy party has run Zambia since one-party rule ended in 1991.
"Now is not the time for violence and retribution. Now is the time to unite and build tomorrow's Zambia together," he said.
Election monitors from the European Union and regional grouping SADC declared the vote free and fair although the process was marred by violence after protests over the slow release of results.
Sata, nicknamed "King Cobra" because of his sharp tongue, toned down his rhetoric against foreign mining firms in the closing stages of the six-week campaign but his victory could still make investors nervous.
Zambia's kwacha fell 2.9 percent to a 14-month-low of 5,150 against the dollar after Sata's victory.
"Sata's victory will likely usher in a new era for a resource-nationalist mining sector policy," said Sebastian Spio-Garbrah, an analyst with DaMina Advisors.
Sata received 1,150,045 votes compared with Banda's 961,796 with 95.3 percent of constituencies counted.
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