Maravi

Siliya defends contract with RP Capital

Siliya defends contract with RP Capital
Written by Ernest Chanda
Saturday, February 14, 2009 9:54:22 PM

COMMUNICATIONS and transport minister Dora Siliya yesterday told Parliament that RP Capital Partners of the United Kingdom was the only company that expressed interest in valuating the assets of Zamtel.

Delivering her ministerial statement on a point of order raised by Kantanshi Patriotic Front (PF) member of parliament Yamfwa Mukanga concerning the engagement of RP Capital Group and what tender procedures were followed to value Zamtel assets, Siliya said the other companies which had expressed interest wanted to purchase majority shareholding in Zamtel without valuating the parastatal company.

"This House will recall that my ministerial statement in September 2008 over Zamtel indicated that the way forward would be found before the end of 2008. Many companies approached us with an interest to purchase majority share holding in Zamtel. Others applied for a whole new mobile licence. After various consultations, it was clear that the immediate task for the ministry was to undertake a valuation of the assets of Zamtel to ascertain the true value of the company on the open market," Siliya stated.

"The House and the general public may wish to know that none of the companies alluded to earlier, expressed interest to undertake the valuation exercise except RP Capital. As provided for in the Public Procurement Act no. 12 of 2008 RP Capital Group was selected on the basis of limited selection tender process. Pursuant to circular no. 1 of 2009 effective 12 December 2008, the ministerial threshold for consultancy services is ZMK 7 billion. Members may wish to note again that the MoU was signed on 22 December 2008 after the new procurement Act came into effect."

Siliya stated that the Ministry of Communications and Transport was under pressure to save Zamtel from collapsing.

"'I wish to repeat that in this process, time is of the greatest essence so that we do not continue to subsidise Zamtel at the expense of the citizens. We are all aware that mobile costs in Zambia are some of the highest in the region due to Zamtel's monopoly of the International Gateway and its inefficiencies. This has a direct bearing on the cost of doing business in general and the cost of communication in particular in Zambia," Siliya said.

"It must be noted that, government could not enter into any commercial agreements with the companies that were expressing interest because of inadequate information on the correct market value of Zamtel, information which I needed as the responsible minister to take to Cabinet to seek formal approval to actually partially privatise Zamtel.

"According to the ZDA Act No. 11 of 2006, ZDA would oversee all the aspects of the implementation of privatisation programme hence the reason they are party to the technical committee and the MoU."

She also revealed that the government signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RP Capital Group after the advice of the Solicitor General.

"I wish to inform the House that the process of privatisation of Zamtel through an MoU is not a legally binding document but only expresses the intention of the parties. The second phase involves the actual sale, which would be only upon Cabinet approval. It is after this that a legally binding instrument would be entered into," Siliya said.

"I wish to inform this House that it was after the advice of the Solicitor General who dealt with issues pertaining to the MoU that we went ahead to sign the MoU on 22nd December 2008 taking into account all concerns raised.

"This MoU included an addendum on terms of reference on the role of ZDA as provided for in the ZDA Act. I wish to emphasise that ZDA is party to the MoU. The House may wish to note that it is the practice within government to enter into MoUs and this one is certainly not the first one in the Ministry of Communication and Transport. The Attorney General thereafter provided guidance on an agreement that would be signed in the event that Cabinet approved the partial sale of Zamtel. This advice has not been ignored and will be taken into account at the appropriate time."

When asked by Mukanga on how many Zambian companies were approached to value Zamtel assets, Siliya said no other company approached the Ministry of Communications and Transport other than those that wanted to buy off government shares in the company.

"...Other companies wanted to get a licence for a fourth mobile service provider, and one of them is Mr Fred M'membe himself. The majority of the companies, except for one wanted to buy the shares outrightly, but we could not proceed with the sale before knowing the true value of the company's assets. Zamtel also owes ZTE Corporation a total of US$46 million for the equipment the company has been supplying to Zamtel. In fact some individuals had even offered me money so that they could buy Zamtel but I refused," Siliya said.

She cautioned Parliament against dwelling on issues coming from the media, saying media stories that relied on leaked unauthenticated documents and half truths were a danger to stability and national security.

"It is dangerous if the agenda of this House is provided for by the media. Government is a true believer in press freedom but we also believe that the media must be responsible and practice self regulation. This self regulation must take into account our peculiar culture and norms as Zambians and our social and economic development needs. In this regard a responsible media can play an important role in uplifting the wellbeing of our people and reduce poverty," Siliya said.

"This government also believes in the fight against corruption and we are ready and committed to interact with all individuals and institutions including the media to rid our society of this scourge. Therefore, media stories that rely on leaked unauthenticated documents and half truths are a danger to stability and national security."

Siliya's mention of Post Editor Fred M'membe attracted mummers from the Executive side and part of the opposition.

When Sinazongwe UPND member of parliament Raphael Muyanda was given a chance to ask his question he ended up asking two questions as follows:

"The minister has disclosed to this House that some people wanted to pay her for them to buy government shares in Zamtel, and this is tantamount to corruption. Can the minister disclose the corruptor? Mr M'membe has proved to this nation that he is a highly dangerous criminal..."

At this point deputy speaker of the National Assembly Mutale Nalumango curtailed Muyanda's comments, saying the House could not debate people who were not present to defend themselves.

Nalumango further advised Muyanda that it was only the law enforcement agencies that could deal with court matters.

However, Muyanda could not rest until he raised a similar question: "May I know why Mr M'membe had this defrauding intention?"

He was again cautioned by Nalumango not to discuss people who could not defend themselves in Parliament.

When asked by Mufulira PF member of parliament Majorie Masiye on whether she would admit that government was responsible for the problems in Zamtel because it owed the company a lot of money, Siliya admitted but said the two parties were consulting frequently.

"In fact the two parties are always consulting because Zamtel also owes government huge sums of money in taxes and we have helped the company a lot. In any case the point has been taken," Siliya responded.

UPND member of parliament Brian Ntundu expressed doubt on the truthfulness of Siliya's statement, saying she had not exonerated herself.

"May I ask the honourable minister to come again with a clear statement because for now it is difficult to believe who is telling the truth between the media and the minister. I therefore request that the minister comes back to this House with a more clear statement on the matter," Ntundu said.

But deputy speaker Mutale Nalumango overruled the request, saying the minister could not be compelled to issue a ministerial statement by another member of the House.

Siliya signed an MoU with RP Capital Partners Limited over the partial privatisation of Zamtel shares in total disregard of legal advice from the Attorney General's office.

Attorney General Mumba Malila strongly criticised Siliya over her decision to disregard the advice from the Solicitor General and award RP Capital of Cayman Islands a US$2 million contract to value Zamtel.

But President Rupiah Banda said Siliya should be given a chance to find a strategic partner in Zamtel and that she should be congratulated for doing a commendable job.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, FRED M'MEMBE, PRIVATISATION, RAPHAEL MUYANDA, RP CAPITAL PARTNERS, THE POST, YAMFWA MUKANGA

posted by MrK @ 9:54 PM