Maravi

Banda wants to personally benefit from Zamtel sale – HH

Banda wants to personally benefit from Zamtel sale – HH
Written by Patson Chilemba and Mutuna Chanda

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema yesterday charged that President Rupiah Banda will not stop at anything until he fulfils his corrupt interests over the privatisation of Zamtel.

Commenting on President Banda's announcement that the government intends to sell 75 per cent stake in Zamtel to a strategic equity partner, Hichilema said although the majority had made their position clear over the privatisation, President Banda and the top leaders of MMD had already made up their minds because of the family connections involved in the sale of the company.

He said President Banda wanted Zamtel to be privatised in order to personally benefit from the transaction.

"The President is already made up on fulfilling this corrupt transaction. The Zamtel saga is something the Zambian people have made themselves clear on, from the initial corrupt stage involving Dora Siliya. Remember we said that they should stop with the evaluation, but they did not listen. They will not allow it because of their personal interests. The Zambian people would pay heavily because of the family interests," Hichilema said.

"We are exacerbating the anger the people have over Zamtel because they [President Banda’s government] have already committed to their friends, their family ties. This is not a hidden matter. It was revealed that their sons were connected to this saga. When the regime is corrupt, it becomes blind to the views of the majority. This is how I can define the MMD and the President's behaviour on Zamtel. That is why he insisted and even abused the Judiciary to keep Siliya and even gave her an appointment."

Hichilema said President Banda wanted Zamtel to be privatised so that he could use the proceeds for the 2011 election campaigns. However, Hichilema said President Banda would not succeed because there always comes a time when people refused to be moved by corruption.

On President Banda's statement that although he was not aware of any Chinese company that could take over Zamtel or that the government was already courting one, the Asian giants would be well within their rights if they had the funds to take over the telecommunications company, Hichilema said the statement by the President was a tip of the iceberg of what was expected to come.

Hichilema said President Banda was sinking because he was always making mistakes every day.

Hichilema said it was sad that President Banda had failed to realise that he was sitting on a stench of corruption.

And UPND national youth chairman Joe Kalusa demanded that the government releases the RP Capital Partners' evaluation report on Zamtel's assets.

Kalusa said it was amazing that the head of state was silent over the evaluation of the telecommunications company's assets.

He said Zambians needed to know the contents of the evaluation report for them to determine whether or not Zamtel needed to be sold to a strategic equity partner.

"Top government officials have interests that's why they are saying Zamtel can't survive on its own," Kalusa said. "While we are being told of its indebtedness, no one is telling us the value of the company's assets; up to now, the RP Capital evaluation report has not been made public. We are demanding that the new minister of communications and transport [Professor Geoffrey] Lungwangwa tells us the contents of the RP Capital report that's when we'll determine whether or not Zamtel should be sold."

He said he believed that Zamtel had assets and could survive on its own.

"We believe that after Zamtel, the next target is Zesco and they'll sell it to their friends," he said. "What are we going to remain with as Zambians? The mines have gone. Zamtel is going; we are being robbed of this national asset. The repercussion of selling this company is more of Zambians will lose jobs and they'll join masses in the streets."

Kalusa said if Zamtel was forgiven of the debts it owed state institutions such as Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), it could survive on its own.

"The debt that Zamtel has is almost equivalent to that of UNZA (University of Zambia)," said Kalusa. "We are also demanding a full report of how UNZA accrued that debt. It's a sad state of affairs."

Zamtel owes over K758 billion to various institutions including Chinese banks, Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) while it is owed slightly over K134 billion as of March 31, 2009.

According to a recent report by a senior Zamtel employee, the company owed ZRA K332,389 billion and three Chinese institutions [China Exim Bank, K38,407.8 billion, China Industrial & Commercial Bank, K33,858.1 billion, and CITIC/ Sinosure, K155,120 billion] a total of K227,385 billion, as at March 31, 2009.

Meanwhile, Hichilema said he and Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata were everyday talking to the MMD rank and file and that most of them [MMD] were dissatisfied with the President's performance.

On the President Banda's reference to Sata as an ugly man, Hichilema said the anger the President was exhibiting was a sign that he was collapsing.

"In Ndola, I was told that when he arrived, he started hurling insults against Sata. He is the one always accusing others of insulting him, is that not a fools paradise? He is living in a fools paradise," Hichilema said.

"At one point, he was saying 'you can't vote for Hichilema because he is a Tonga'. Isn't that promoting tribalism? We believe in One Zambia, One nation."

On MMD deputy national secretary Jeff Kaande's statement that Hichilema and Sata's move to impeach President Banda was a joke of the year, Hichilema asked Kaande to avoid being a mail man because he did not believe in what he was saying.

"I don't want to expose Jeff Kaande because I know his private position on Rupiah Banda. He knows that his President has failed," he said.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DORA SILIYA, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, RUPIAH BANDA, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 3:58 AM