Maravi

Sata vows to re-nationalise Zamtel once in power

Sata vows to re-nationalise Zamtel once in power
By George Chellah
Fri 15 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata yesterday vowed to re-nationalise Zamtel after ascending to power in 2011.

The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has announced that the four companies that submitted bids in the first round of the Zamtel privatisation process had qualified to the second stage of the bidding process.

The companies that have been short-listed are Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) Limited of India, LAP Greencom Limited of Libya, Unitel of Angola and Altimo Holding of Russia.

During Hot FM radio's Hot Seat programme yesterday, Sata said he had no regrets over his stance on the re-nationalisation of Zamtel.

“Zamtel belongs to the people of Zambia. Zamtel… is only a question of 13 months before it becomes for the people of Zambia. We will ask the people of Zambia to buy shares in Zamtel. This thing, it will be re-nationalised and no compensation, no compensation! I will re-nationalise it and there will be no compensation,” Sata said.

When reminded about his critics' assertions that he was scaring away investors, Sata responded: “But the investors… we have investors Zain, they are here. I am not saying I am going to re-nationalise Zain, there is MTN, I am not saying I will re-nationalise them. But Zamtel belongs to us, Zamtel and Zanaco belong to the people of Zambia and leave it, that's a hot potato uwaikatako apya!”

Sata said Dr Kenneth Kaunda, despite his mistakes, left the leadership of the country with infrastructure in place.

“…When comrade Rupiah Banda came… instead of improving on Zamtel, he wants to get rid of it because what he wants is his pocket,” Sata said.

On Indeni Oil Refinery, Sata said repairing or bringing new equipment to the refinery was not impossible.

“Scrapping it off, I do not agree because Indeni can continue limping whilst we are extending to bring in a modern refinery, which will refine crude oil. If we can bring in a modern refinery to refine crude oil then we can even buy crude oil from Angola,” Sata said.

“Put up another capacity in Katete where we can bring a pipeline from Mozambique into Katete.

Then the whole Eastern Province does not expect fuel from Ndola to go to entire Eastern Province… At the moment Indeni has been supplying fuel to Malawi. But that pipeline from Mozambique to Katete can take over the supply of fuel to Malawi.”

Sata also said he did not see the reason Zambia hasn't got a refinery nearer to Dar-Es-salaam. He promised to slash some fuel taxes.

“On fuel there are more than 25 taxes and we will slash all those taxes because our policy is lower taxes because if you reduced the taxes you create more employment. This increase of 15 per cent we are going to see loss of jobs. For example, every bag of mealie-meal which is going to pass there will be 15 per cent because no miller is going to absorb 15 per cent on behalf of anybody,” he said.

On LITASCO, Sata said President Banda was very lucky.

“The late Mwanawasa drafted him to be his Vice-President and then later on to become President in a questionable manner but he wants to change everything. The reason why he wants to change everything, comrade Rupiah Banda believes in maximum enjoyment, minimum or no responsibility at all,” Sata said.

“Zambia since independence in 1964, we have had our source of fuel and our source has been the Middle East. Russia is very far away from the Middle East…”

Sata described the whole LITASCO transaction as corrupt.

“Why does comrade Kenneth Konga insist that we should go and buy...there is some little commission that's why they are insisting to bring in the Russians. Can Konga or whoever is involved, is it the reason why they want to make him Vice-President?” Sata asked. “Can he tell us why has he abandoned Kuwait, why has he abandoned Iran, why has he abandoned Iraq and all the people in the Middle East including Libya? Why have we abandoned all those people?

It's just a question of corruption, nothing else. They are cashing in…they know they are in a hurry to go and as they are in a hurry to go, that's why at the moment they want to silence PF and the Catholic Church.”

Sata also said the government media were working extremely hard because they knew that PF was getting stronger.

“The government is very jittery. They think they can intimidate me, they think they can intimidate PF,” he said.

And Sata charged that home affairs minister Lameck Mangani was issuing National Registration Cards (NRCs) in secrecy.

“…Zambia belongs to all of you and as Zambia belongs to all of you…the children whom you are denying NRCs cannot get employment,” he said.

Sata said Forum for Leadership Search executive director Edwin Lifwekelo has drifted to the ruling party because of poverty.

“Government is working hard to work with disgruntled people. Now they pick these two university dropouts, that Kabwata and Antonio Mwanza former UNZASU president they are getting some khaki envelopes somewhere…We are not going to attend National Constitutional Conference (NCC) and we shall meet Mwanza in court,” Sata said. “The youngman Mulongoti was nominated, as nominated Member of Parliament, he is supposed to yap like he is doing.”
Sata said poverty had made even educated people to be preoccupied with semantics.

“For example, we have the so-called NCC… that NCC if they are going to rush and say they want to have a constitution on which we are going to run the elections, what type of constitution is that going to be?” Sata asked.

“They want a degree holder to be Speaker…the current constitution a person qualifies to be speaker if he qualifies to be a MP, are they going to tell us that all MPs must be degree holders? We are going back to the colonial days. The so-called graduates who are in that NCC have hijacked the whole process. We are not getting anything in that constitution for the people.”

Labels: LITASCO, NATIONALISATION, SATA, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 5:57 PM