Maravi

Magande backs Zamtel takeover

Magande backs Zamtel takeover
By Kombe Chimpinde
Thu 12 Jan. 2012, 14:00 CAT

PF government has taken action to correct the actions of those who had deaf ears. . . THE government is mandated to seize Zamtel from the Libyan authorities because the deal was fraudulent, says Ng'andu Magande.

Commenting on government's decision to reverse the sale of 75 per cent stake of Zamtel to Libya's LAP Green Networks by the Rupiah Banda-led MMD government, Magande, the former finance minister, said Libya's threat that it would fight the reversal was, at all costs, misplaced.

President Michael Sata on Tuesday said the government was ready "to fight Libyans over Zamtel".

President Sata dared the Libyan-owned LAP Green Network after the firm threatened to battle it out with the Zambian government over its purchase of Zamtel.

"Let the Libyans fight. We are ready to fight. If they haven't fought in their own country to the bitter end...why didn't they save Muammar Gaddafi?" President Sata said.

Commenting on President Sata's statement, Magande said: "If there were irregularities, you cannot say ‘we are going to inconvenience people'. You can't! An irregularity is an irregularity. You have to take corrective measures and if government feels that it must seize the company which was a parastatal, then that is correct."

Sources disclosed to The Post last week that Cabinet has resolved to reverse the sale of Zamtel's 75 per cent shares to LAP GreenN.

Magande said it would not have made any sense for government to embrace a transaction that was fraudulently done.

"The PF government has a right to take over. They cannot just keep quiet. If the Commission of Inquiry found out these irregularities then it is correct to take corrective measures," he said.

Magande said the case of LAP GreeN was a lesson to both public servants and investors to be cautious and ensure that their transactions are legally bound.

"It's a question of everybody learning a lesson that in future, they have to be careful, even those who want to buy. They have to make sure that they are transparent as much as possible and those who are selling also are explaining to the public who own the asset what exactly is happening," he said.

Magande said that it was unfortunate that then communications minister at the time, Dora Siliya, chose to ignore legal as well as technical advice when she dubiously awarded RP Capital of Cayman Islands to valuate the assets of Zamtel, which the Commission of Inquiry established was sold for a ‘song'.

"The PF Government has taken the action to correct the actions of those who had deaf ears," Magande said.

He also welcomed the PF government's intention to probe the sale of 49 per cent stake of Zanaco to Rabo Bank of Netherlands.

"This is a new government; they can even have 100 commissions of inquiry in anything…," Magande said.

"President Sata has not been in government since 2001 so if he thinks there things which happened which require investigation, he is welcome to do so and where he (President Sata) finds something was not done properly, then he can take action, if that action is in the interest of Zambians including myself."

Sources last week told The Post that cabinet would engage an undisclosed process to repossess Zamtel majority stake in the operations of the State-run fixed phone line firm whose 25 percent shareholding by government.

And LAP GreenN's management last week declared that the 75 per cent shareholding in Zamtel belongs to Libyans, vowing that the company will do "everything possible" to fight for ownership of a majority stake in Zambia's biggest telecommunication company.

LAP GreenN, the Libyan owned telecommunications network, in a statement availed to The Post, stated that it is "deeply concerned about unsubstantiated news reports that the Zambian government is moving to seize the 75 per cent stake".

"We hope these reports are untrue, as this situation will not only be damaging to the telecoms industry in Zambia but would also send the wrong signal to those looking to invest in this country. LAP GreenN looks forward to continuing to develop Zamtel into a leading telecoms company, working with its partner in this investment, the Zambian Government," stated LAP GreenN's newly-appointed chairman Wafik Alshater.

LAP GreenN claims that it bought its stake in Zamtel in June 2010 for US$257 million (about K1.37 trillion) following an open, transparent and competitive bid process that was overseen by the Zambian Development Agency.

Labels: CORRUPTION, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, ZAMTEL

posted by MrK @ 7:09 PM