Maravi

Simataa urges govt not to sell Zamtel

Simataa urges govt not to sell Zamtel
Written by Patson Chilemba in Lusaka and Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Monday, July 27, 2009 12:32:31 PM

LUSAKA business consultant Simataa Simataa has said the government should not privatise Zamtel but instead pay back the debts owed to the company. In an interview yesterday, Simataa said he still believed that it was the government's business to do business especially in an economy like Zambia.

"We still don't have a strong Zambian entrepreneurship to take over industry. I feel government should blame itself for the problems of Zamtel, the telephone bills. A week ago, we were told that Zamtel is owed K80 billion and most of it from government. If that was paid back, don't you think it will go a long way? My opinion is not privatisation. That money should be paid back," Simataa said.

However, Simataa said should the government decide to go against the people's will, they should keep 25 per cent shares, public participation should be at 26 per cent while 49 per cent could be offered to the private hands. He said the government should uphold transparency in its dealings.

"I hope it is not another parastatal. We have heard from various people that it is another parastatal from China," Simataa said.

And Parliamentary public accounts committee chairman Charles Milupi said the government's intention to privatise Zamtel was a serious indictment on the faults of the ruling MMD and the running of parastatals during its time.

Milupi said the shares in the company needed to be sold for what they were worth because the investors would reap a fortune out of the ailing parastatal.

"In the privatisation process we hope that it will be above board, those 75 per cent shares will be sold for what they are worth," Milupi said. "So for the first time Zambians must be on the look out; what is government going to realise and make sure that the privatisation process is corruption free."

He said Zambians needed to be privy to the agreements that the government would enter with the equity partner so that the country and Zamtel workers were not disadvantaged.

"The people coming in, we must have details as to what deals they are going to make because if we don't do that, they will disadvantage Zambia, they will disadvantage the employees; it's happening in other privatised companies. So let Zambians be on the lookout," he said.

"So to me the fact that Zamtel has been privatised because it is making losses is a serious indictment on the political powers in place and the system that has been put in place to supervise these parastatals. What do we do in parastatals? We put party cadres as chairmen of boards, you go to the Zamtel board over so many years, over the last 10 years, who have been the board of directors? Do they have any business acumen? Do they know how a company should run? Or their interest has been to propel the interests of the ruling party? That is why they make losses."

Milupi said Zambians should reflect on why parastatals were making losses.

"The very fact that Zamtel has been making losses calls for deep reflection in Zambia; why are parastatals making losses?" he asked.

"And all our parastatals are making losses; Zesco, Zampost, any one of them, they are all making losses. So we as Zambian people must ask ourselves why? Because we shall privatise Zamtel which is loss making. I think in the presidential statement there was mention of US $200 million required. I think in terms of what they owe, I think US $90 million is what they owe people. When they privatise, someone will come and they will begin to make profits; lots of profit from the landline, from the cell phones and so on. So let us ask ourselves as a country why is it that when something is in private hands it makes profit.

"Zesco at the moment is making losses. You privatise it, it will make profits. It is the managements that we put in place, it is the boards of directors who are not business minded, it is the interfering from government with the managements of these companies."

Milupi said the only advantage with privatisation was that the ruling party stopped interfering in the running of parastatals.

"The only advantage you get when you privatise is that the government stops interfering in the day-to-day affairs; political parties no longer go to them to ask for vehicles to do this, to do that and other things," said Milupi.

"The end result is we disadvantage ourselves. To me any company can make profits regardless of the ownership whether it's publicly owned or privately owned provided you have in place systems and procedures to make sure that the management principles are carried out properly; to make sure that the owners of the company only benefit from the profits and the dividends.

"But what we have in Africa and particularly in Zambia is that government and politicians and so on they lean so much on parastatals. They are the ones who provide vehicles for funerals. They are the ones who provide vehicles and other resources for campaigns for political parties in power and so on; that is why they make losses. And they are the ones who frighten managements from making proper decisions. They are the ones who make managements over-employ. That's why they make losses."

President Banda last Friday announced that Zamtel would be privatised and that the government would remain with a 25 per cent stake in the company until at an appropriate time when it would sell the shares to Zambians as part of the Citizens Economic Empowerment Programme.

Labels: CEE, CHARLES MILUPI, CORRUPTION, PRIVATISATION, SIMATAA SIMATAA, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 11:32 AM