⬆️Hon. Brenda Mwika Tambatamba.
President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia has appointed Hon. Brenda Mwika Tambatamba, Member of Parliament for Kasempa, as the new Minister of Mines and Minerals Development.
The appointment forms part of cabinet changes announced on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, following Hichilema’s re-election for a second term in the August 2026 general election.
Tambatamba previously served as Minister of Labour and Social Security in Hichilema’s first cabinet, a position she held from September 2021.
She has represented Kasempa constituency in the National Assembly since 2016 as a member of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) and was re-elected in both the 2021 and 2026 elections.
Before entering politics, she worked as a sustainability manager at Barrick Gold’s Lumwana copper mine in North-Western Province, giving her direct industry experience in one of Zambia’s key mining operations.
Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer. The government has set an ambitious target of raising annual copper output to 3 million metric tons—nearly triple current levels—to take advantage of rising global demand for the metal, which is critical for electric vehicles, power networks, and construction.
The Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development oversees the country’s vital mining sector, a cornerstone of the Zambian economy. Tambatamba succeeds Paul Kabuswe in the role.
Her background in both labour policy and mining operations positions her to address the sector’s dual challenges of increasing production while managing environmental, social, and labour issues in the Copperbelt and North-Western provinces.
