The Zed Update

It was a pleasure to meet Mr Sebastiaan Bock, Chief Operating Officer for Africa and the Middle East at Barrick Gold, who briefed us on the company's ongoing operations and future plans in Zambia.

We were pleased to learn that Barrick's copper production is increasing, in line with our national vision of achieving annual copper production of 3 million tonnes by 2031.

Barrick and other private sector players play a critical role in driving economic growth, creating sustainable jobs and expanding opportunities for our citizens. As Government, our aspiration is to see the private sector generate more employment than the public sector, while helping to significantly grow and diversify our economy.

Together, through increased investment, productivity and value addition, we can expand Zambia's economic output, double the size of our GDP, and deliver greater prosperity for the benefit of all our people.

Hakainde Hichilema
President of the Republic of Zambia.