Fri, 03 Mar 2017 12:20:40 +0000 By BENNIE MUNDANDO GOVERNMENT should consider helping small-scale gemstone businesses owned by Zambians in the Southern Province by assisting them in establishing a processing plant to cut on the costs they are incurring, the PF youths in the province have appealed. PF provincial youth information and publicity secretary Paul Silungwe told the Daily Nation that the province was known for first grade gemstone mining but noted that its viability was still a challenge as players incurred more costs due to lack of facilities. Mr. Silungwe said the cost of production was relatively higher as businesses were forced to incur double transport costs as the stones were moved in their raw form to either Lusaka or the Copperbelt where they were processed before finding customers to buy them. He said due to the heavy costs, most businessmen preferred to sell their stones in raw form at give-away prices, saying […]
