By Singy Hanyona

Crafty foreign investors have continued tricking Zambian women out of their emerald mines after going into partnerships with them. A case in point is the swindling of some women who are investing in the gemstones mining sector. They are falling prey to unscrupulous and bogus crooks posing as foreign investors.

Mary Mambwe, a woman amethyst and gemstone miner in Mapatizya, a rural mining area in Zambia's Southern Province says she is now scared of entering into partnership with foreign investors because of rampant cheating. "I could only allow an investor to help me with mining equipment instead of entering into a partnership", Mambwe lamented. It is unfortunate that most of these women who are being tricked in fact do not even have access to formal legal representation. Ms. Mambwe, a mother of three(3) and a widow said after losing almost US $1000 from the trade, that government must find a way of protecting such women from exploitation by 'big business people'. Southern African Development Community (SADC) Women in Mining

Regional Chairperson Namakau Kaingu has since advised Zambian business women to be aware that not every foreign investor has genuine interest in the country's economic advancement. "While it might be good to see more women get into sectors such as mining, which were previously dominated by men, it is also becoming clear that many women are vulnerable to crooks who are taking advantage of their apparent limited knowledge in the field", Kaingu said.

Dr Anthony Brants, a Dutch Small Scale Mining Consultant, who recently visited Zambia urged the international community to come to the rescue of gemstone miners in Zambia through capital investment. Economic analysts say that with the shrinking agricultural sector in the country, non-traditional mining sector could be a money spinner for the country if trade was properly controlled.

Millions of dollars of emeralds are daily being sold on the black market. Government says it is aware that the country does not benefit as much as it should from the sector because of the same shady deals that seem to dominate the trade. "This is unfortunate because Zambia needs to expand its foreign currency revenue instead of relying sorely on the sale of copper whose price is controlled by the international markets", said one observer. Official reports indicate that Zambia has a rich reservoir of gemstones which if properly marketed and traded could become a reliable and handsome source of foreign currency.

Meanwhile, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has decided to establish a website to help Zambian women in business (ZAWIB) strengthen their business initiatives within and outside the regional grouping. A Comesa expert on Women in Business Catherine Ichoya said the website would be a focal point for the Federation of national Association for women in Business Committee (FEMCOM). Ms Ichoya said there was need for Zambian women in business and others in the region to establish strong linkages on the internet with their counterparts in Europe to improve business and expand their markets. "Lack of information connectivity has had a great impact on the development of women's business sector which needs integration with other regional counterparts", Ichoya said.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.