Maravi

ZDA to start selling properties seized from defunct Task Force

ZDA to start selling properties seized from defunct Task Force
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Fri 09 Apr. 2010, 04:01 CAT

Zambia Develoment Agency director general Andrew Chipwende speaking during a press briefing yesterday at Lusaka’s Pamodzi Hotel. He is flanked by ZDA export and market development director Glyne Michelo (l) and ZDA policy research director Florence Mumba - Picture by Collins Phiri

LIBYA’S LAP Greencom Limited and Angola’s consortium of Unitel and Angola Cables are this month set to commence separate negotiations to buy Zamtel as Altimo Holdings is dropped, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) director general Andrew Chipwende announced yesterday.

And Chipwende has said ZDA is to start selling properties seized from the defunct Task Force on Corruption among them Ndola Trust School and Motor City Limited.

Chipwende told journalists yesterday during the 2010 first quarter media briefing that Russian consortium of Altimo Holdings has been put on standby and may be summoned once negotiations with one of the two preferred bidders collapse.

“We can confirm that we did receive the binding bids from the three bidders that remained and we are expecting to commence negotiations by the third week of April,” Chipwende said.

“The ZDA board approved that we proceed in negotiations with two of three bidders and the other one is being put on reserve. We are going to negotiate with two, if any one of the two fallout, we can always call in the third one that is going to be on the reserve list.”

Chipwende said although ZDA targeted to conclude the sale of between 51 and 75 per cent of the stake in Zamtel which had been disputed by opposition political parties and key civil society organisations by June this year, the timeframe could be extended.

“Negotiations are negotiations. If somebody asks you ‘how long is the piece of string, you said it depends on the string,’” Chipwende said.

“You never know, strings have different lengths. You can’t know until you get into the negotiations and it’s a bit dangerous to try and predict when you will conclude negotiations because you don’t know what issues are going to come up. But in terms of planning, our target is to try and conclude the process by end of June which is very tight.”

And Chipwende said ZDA was in the process of selling some companies seized by the defunct Task Force on Corruption.

The ZDA chief also said the revival of the Njanji Commuters, the intra Lusaka commuter train was on the cards.

“There are a number of companies that were seized by the Task Force which we will be requested to sell,” said Chipwende.

“These include, Motor City Holdings, we also have one bid for Njanji commuters and evaluation is currently going on in terms of establishing the capacity of that bid to revive and in future extend the scope of Njanji commuter operations.”

Labels: ITC, TASK FORCE, ZAMTEL, ZDA

posted by MrK @ 3:08 PM