Zanaco privatisation report yet to be released
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Fri 15 Nov. 2013, 14:00 CAT
THE probe report into the privatisation of Zanaco has not yet been released, five months after finance minister Alexander Chikwanda said it had been overtaken by time.
In July when he received a K10.5 million dividend from Zanaco for the 25 per cent stake the government holds in the bank, Chikwanda said the government was focused to see the most capitalized bank in Zambia grow further.
"We don't want negatives; Zanaco is growing…I will not deal with that question. It has been overtaken by time," Chikwanda said in response to a question on the status of the probe report into the manner.
In January 2012, President Michael Sata instituted a commission of inquiry led by former justice minister Sebastian Zulu to probe the US $8.25 million transaction in which Rabobank bought 49 per cent shares of Zanaco which waswholly-owned by the government.
The inquiry into the 2007 sale of Zanaco closed in February last year but report had not been made public and the government was yet to state the position on the probe report.
And Zanaco which is majority-owned by Rabobank said it had not yet received the final formalities for the closed probe.
"The commission of inquiry completed its hearings and receiving of submissions on 9th February 2012," Zanaco's sponsoring broker, Stockbrokers Zambia Limited, announced in a cautionary update.
"Accordingly, we now await the announcement on the findings and recommendations of the inquiry.
Labels: ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, MICHAEL SATA, NEOLIBERALISM, PRIVATISATION, SEBASTIAN ZULU, ZANACO
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Zanaco to continue lending to agriculture, SME entrepreneurs
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 04 Nov. 2013, 14:00 CAT
ZANACO says it will continue to focus on lending to agriculture and small and medium entrepreneurs. As at end of August, its agricultural loan book represented over 25 per cent of Zanaco's total loan portfolio.
"We are proud that our goal and objective to be the biggest agricultural financier by value and to have the largest number of clients in Zambia by 2015 will be kept alive with the boost the facility will make on our loan book," said Zanaco managing director Martyn Schouten.
Last week, Zanaco signed a long term senior debt agreement with the Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft DEG.
Zanaco is expected to receive US$15 million as first payment of US$25 million while the second part of the long term senior debt of US$10 million is scheduled to be disbursed by October next year.
"We are also glad that we will now be able to adequately provide working capital and capital expenditure requirements for our customers and corporate customers," Schouten said. "In this regard, we are grateful to DEG for making it possible for us to make long term lending which is very important for economic growth."
Schouten said Zanaco supports the largest Zambian food and agriculture corporations and commercial farmers whose financing needs were complex.
"We also support more than 10,500 smallholder farmers," said Schouten. "With the largest number of SMEs in the market, Zanaco remain steadfast to ensure the 13,000 SMEs we serve continue to be active players in the growth of our economy. A substantial portion of the DEG facility will be targeted at SMEs."
Labels: MARTIJN SCHOUTEN, SMEs, ZANACO
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No decision has been made to nationalise Zanaco - Siame
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Wed 23 May 2012, 13:37 CAT
NO decision has been made by the government to nationalise Zanaco, says President Michael Sata's special assistant for economics and development affairs, Paul Siame.
Reacting to Professor Oliver Saasa's statement on Monday that President Sata's remarks on Zanaco were premature and could send shivers in the economy that government was going to nationalise the bank, Siame said nationalisation is not the government's policy.
President Sata on Friday hinted that the government might "move in" on anything which was privatised with corruption like Zanaco.
"Don't be misled that Zambia is going back to nationalisation; we are not nationalising anything but anything which was privatised with corruption like Zamtel, we will 'move in'. Anything which was privatised with corruption like Zanaco, we will 'move in', but that's not nationalisation, we are going to float those shares publicly," President Sata had said.
Last February, President Sata constituted a commission of inquiry chaired by justice minister Sebastian Zulu to probe the manner and process the 49 per cent stake in Zanaco was sold to Rabobank of Netherlands at US$8.25 million.
The report of the inquiry, according to Zulu, is ready awaiting permission from the Secretary to the Cabinet to hand it to the President.
Prof Saasa, an economic and political consultant, said Zanaco should not be nationalised and challenged the government to state what President Sata meant.
But Siame, in a statement issued yesterday, stated that the government welcomed investors across all sectors of the economy and had provided for incentives aimed specifically at increased levels of investment and international trade, as well as increased domestic economic growth.
He stated that transparency, property protection and non discrimination were investment policy principles that underpin the government's efforts to create a sound investment environment for all in order to spur more domestic investment, sustain high levels of foreign investment and enhance economic diversification.
"The government has a duty as custodians of national assets to protect public interest where they may be allegations of corruption such as the privatisation process of Zamtel and therefore institute investigations. In the case of Zamtel, investigations did indeed prove that it was corruptly privatised and the government took the necessary corrective measures in national interest in line with its policy of zero-tolerance on corruption," he stated.
"The government fully supports measures that encourage responsible business conduct by all investors, be they small or large, domestic or foreign."
Siame stated that the government would continue promoting investment, foreign and domestic, to tap emerging and existing investment opportunities to boost the country's development objectives towards becoming a diversified economy driven by investment and a vibrant private sector.
Meanwhile, President Sata has with immediate effect created Zimba as a new district in Southern Province.
Special assistant to the President for press and public relations George Chellah stated yesterday that this was contained in the President's letter to the provincial minister Obvious Mwaliteta.
President Sata advised Mwaliteta to liase with all the stakeholders, political parties and their royal highnesses, for them to establish the centre where the district headquarters would be located.
Zimba is the second district to be established Southern Province within seven days.
Last week, President Sata created Pemba as a district in line with his campaign promise to decentralise government operations for the effective and efficient delivery of services to the people.
Labels: NATIONALISATION, ZANACO
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Sata's statement on Zanaco was premature - Saasa
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 21 May 2012, 14:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata's statement on Zanaco was premature and sends shivers in the economy that government is going to nationalise the bank, says Professor Oliver Saasa.
And Prof Saasa says the government should not nationalise Zanaco.
President Sata on Friday hinted that government might "move in" on "anything which was privatised with corruption like Zanaco".
"Don't be misled that Zambia is going back to nationalisation; we are not nationalising anything but anything which was privatised with corruption like Zamtel, we will move in. Anything which was privatised with corruption like Zanaco we move in, but that's not nationalisation, we are going to float those publicly."
Last February, President Sata constituted a commission of inquiry chaired by justice minister Sebastian Zulu to probe the manner and process the 49 per cent stake in Zambia National Commercial Bank was sold.
Zanaco was sold to Rabobank in 2007 at US$8.25 million, and according to Zulu, the report was ready and only awaiting permission from the Secretary to the Cabinet for handover to the President.
Commenting on President Sata's statement, Prof Saasa said there was likely to be apprehension in the economy and investor community owing to the President's statement.
"That statement was premature because this Zanaco is a subject of investigations and when a statement like that is made, it's very easy for the international community, investors to immediately believe that the fate that befell the communications company Zamtel is going to fall on Zambia National Commercial Bank," Prof Saasa said.
"If a statement is made before the President receives the report or he has received it before we are made to understand that cabinet is deliberating on it, that becomes a governance issue. When the President makes a statement like that, you can start suspecting that already there are fears the President has already has already received and is making a policy statement even before Cabinet meets. That is what brings about nervousness.
It is not so much about whether they are going to nationalise or not, it is all about 'has the President made a premature statement?' Unfortunately for investors, they have a point of reference. This will not be too far-fetched when someone gets worried."
Prof Saasa who is a Lusaka economic and policy consultant challenged the government to state what President Sata meant.
"To save the President's face, we need a government spokesman to elaborate that he was just giving an example and it does not mean the decision has been made before the President receives those recommendations of the inquiry," he said.
"As far as I recall, I don't recall any announcement to the effect that a report has already been submitted. That is what makes me a little bit more comfortable that it may have been one of those off-the-cuff statements. If the report had already been submitted, this would have been already a verdict that the President has made a decision based on what was submitted."
Prof Saasa said he prayed that President Sata's statement was "off-the-cuff".
"To have included Zambia National Commercial Bank, it was inadvertent and I thought the President should have held a little longer to make that statement because for readers, listeners and investors, that can almost amount to a policy statement because he is the Head of State," Prof Saasa. "If it is Chishimba Kambwili who said it, I was going to rubbish it. The seriousness with which a statement is taken usually is not the message but the messenger. So, he is the Head of State and we cannot start playing politics about…no he didn't mean it. There was need to elaborate."
Prof Saasa said nationalising Zanaco should not be an option.
"As far as the definition of nationalisation is concerned, Zambia has nationalised the telecommunication company Zamtel," said Prof Saasa. "Zambia is going to nationalise Zambia National Commercial Bank if this is the position. But selling it back to the private sector does not mean you didn't nationalise.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, NATIONALISATION, OLIVER SAASA, ZANACO
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Zulu defends radar inquiry findings
By Kombe Chimpinde
Fri 20 Apr. 2012, 11:59 CAT
MINISTER of Justice Sebastian Zulu says he was ‘walking a tightrope' when President Michael Sata rubbished his report because he could not defend it as the matter was in court.
Recently, President Sata said the Sebastian Zulu-led commission of inquiry report on radar contracts for three international airports was useless and wondered if the Minister of Justice was trying to protect Dora Siliya.
In an interview, Zulu who chaired the commission of inquiry on radar contracts for the airports, said the findings by his commission were justified.
He however said that he could not defend it as it had coincided with the time of Siliya's arrest and appearance before the magistrates' court regarding the same matter and commenting on it would have made it prejudicial before the courts of law.
"Our findings as far as I am concerned were justified. I could not comment on the findings of the report because that matter is in court. It was on the basis of some of those findings that Dora was arrested. So I was walking a tightrope," he said.
"See what I mean? The matter was in court so I couldn't comment on the findings of the report because the matter is in court."
Zulu said that he was also awaiting an appointment to be fixed in which he would present the report on the Inquiry on NAPSA regarding the Meanwood project and ZNBS property development, which the President deferred following his (Zulu) decision to delegate the function because he was reportedly out of the country.
"They will give me a date. They have not given me a date on which to present," said Zulu.
On the Zanaco inquiry which Zulu chaired, Zulu said that the findings had been closed and that he had been waiting to be given time to present it.
Earlier, Zulu said a team of experts comprising all stakeholders to draw up specifications in order to identify the requirement for a new and modern air traffic management system, which would include the radar, should also be set up.
And Zulu clarified that there was a circular released recently to all government departments regarding some changes in State House and government function protocol at which the PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba has been included in the top three but that he was not the spokesperson to divulge the details of the circular.
Responding to journalists who wanted to know if those changes had any attachment to the Cabinet arrangement, Zulu said, "The circular is merely talking about who comes first second and so forth. All I can confirm is there is a circular. But the protocol must not be confused with Cabinet."
Labels: CORRUPTION, MICHAEL SATA, NAPSA, ZANACO
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Zambia needs easy financial regulatory regime - Rabo
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thu 05 Apr. 2012, 13:55 CAT
ZAMBIA needs to develop a regulatory mechanism that is easy to understand and of good international sense to attract more foreign investments, says Rabo Financial Institutions Development.
And Rabo Financial Institutions Development, Rabobank's majority shareholders, says the bank will be "somehow surprised if there was an adverse outcome" on probe into the 49 per cent sale of Zanaco in 2007.
In an interview, Rabo Financial Institutions Development managing director Bruce Dick said in regulating the financial sector, what was important in business or banks or anything else was to ensure that there was transparency and certainty.
"What businesses or banks struggle with is when you create situations that people cannot understand and they can't agree with the logic, the you create uncertainty and you will build in risk premiums which will cost people money because you will end up having to pay risk premiums to attract the money into their businesses because they will accept the volatility and uncertainty," Dick said.
"What we don't want to see develop is a whole lot of regulatory activity that we can't understand and doesn't make good sense in an international environment."
Dick said there was need for political leaders to put in place an environment in which clearly spelt out and easily tailored economic rules are in put in place to ensure businesses thrived.
"What people external to Zambia will look at - institutional or international investors - is that they compare the opportunity to come to Zambia with the opportunity to go some other place, and if they see or find things they can't understand, the money is gonna go somewhere else," he said.
[Did he really use the word 'gonna'? - MrK]
"That is the big challenge for the political environment to make sure that they keep it transparent and easily understood."
[I like transparent and easily understood. The Windfall Tax is the right tax for exactly that reason. - MrK]
And Dick, who is Zanaco's board chairman, said he was confident that the bank's operations would not be hurt by the outcome of the Sebastian Zulu-led commission of inquiry whose report is expected this week.
"I don't think there are issues that Zanaco should be concerned about, if there are any issues that will come out, it will be to do with the sale process vis a vis the shareholder," he said. "That is not an issue for Zanaco."
He said Rabobank's concern is that they have done "everything according to the rules and they would sit there and be somehow surprised if there was an adverse outcome".
"Rabobank is not sitting there squawking in their shoes thinking that some huge event is about to occur because from our Netherlands view point, everything was done in accordance to the rules that were providing in and in an open and transparent way," said Dick.
Labels: CORRUPTION, RABOBANK, ZANACO
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Fitch rating signals need for stability - Schouten
By Gift Chanda
Wed 07 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
THE downgrading of Zambia's economic outlook from stable to negative signals the importance of having
economic stability and predictable policies in a country, says
Zanaco managing director Martyn Schouten.In its latest outlook released last Thursday, global rating agency, Fitch, downgraded Zambia's economic outlook from stable to negative
a few months before the country's planned US$700 million Eurobond is issued, citing concerns about the direction of economic policy.
Fitch said Zambia's recent decision to reverse a privatisation deal could undermine property rights, while planned reforms of the mining and banking sectors could negatively impact investment an consequently macro-economic stability.
But finance minister Alexander Chikwanda said it was an "inglorious opinion" for Fitch to downgrade Zambia's economic outlook to negative.
Commenting on the development, Schouten said "I think it is a rating agency's message to everyone that it is important to have stability in economic arena to ensure that there is predictability in things that happen and to ensure that foreign direct investors to Zambia are comfortable with the overall economic framework and the policy outlook going forward and as result it seems to make seen that they have a small change in their outlook."
Fitch in its report stated that "the revision of Zambia's rating reflects the agency's concerns about some of the government's recent actions and
announcements, which bring into question the direction of economic policy."
The government is investigating the 2007 sale of a 49 per cent stake in state-owned Zanaco Bank to Rabobank, in a case that Fitch said "could lead to a reversal of a deal involving foreigners".
Schouten said the downgrade of Zambia's outlook could have an impact on investors' perception on Zambia, although it may not be very significant.
"I think foreign direct investment is important for growth in any country and where there is a slight change of economic outlook potentially as seen by a rating agency, that may have a small impact on some foreign investors in terms of how they view the overall investment and the time table they want to follow for their investment," he said.
"On the other hand, Zambia has also proven over many decades that it is one of the most stable politically and economically countries in the world and certainly in Africa and as a result this may have very little impact on FDI."
Meanwhile, Schouten said it is not a surprise that the central bank plans to increase minimum capital requirements for commercial banks considering the instability in the global economy.
Fitch raised concerns on the Bank of Zambia's plans to raise the minimum capital requirement for commercial banks.
Schouten said Zanaco was in a position to meet the new requirements the central bank plans to implement.
Labels: DEBT, ZANACO
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Zanaco's expansion impresses Gondwe
By Gift Chanda
Wed 07 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
BANK of Zambia Governor Dr Michael Gondwe has commended Zanaco's footprint expansion following its privatisation. Officiating at the launch of the Zanaco Easybanking centre in Lusaka on Monday, Dr Gondwe said Zanaco, which is partly owned and managed by Netherlands' Rabobank, has increased its footprint to 199 from a mere 42 since privatisation to cover 74 districts across the country.
The government is investigating the 2007 sale of a 49 per cent stake in Zanaco Bank to Rabobank.
Dr Gondwe said Zanaco's distribution size currently stands at 59 branches, 121 outlets at Zampost offices and another nine agencies in far-flung areas of Chilubi and Shangombo.
"Bank of Zambia as a regulator of financial institutions in the country is proud of such achievements," he said.
"I am particularly proud to note that Zanaco has gone many steps further in ensuring they bring banking services closer to the people of Zambia through initiatives such as the strategic relationship with Zambia Postal Services Corporation (ZAMPOST)...The provision of financial services to the majority of our people, especially those in rural and peri-urban areas as well as small and micro entrepreneurs..."
Dr Gondwe was optimistic that the Easybanking centre marked a significant cheaper alternative to conventional branch-based banking due to its 'one stop shop' setup.
Earlier, Zanaco board vice-chairperson Chintu Mulendema said Zanaco believed that financial inclusion was critical in Zambia's development.
"We also believe that every individual should be empowered to be active players in driving the economy of Zambia. As a result we are committed to ensuring that we bridge the gap between the 40 per cent of people who have access to financial services and those who do not," said Mulendema.
"Our commitment has seen us bring financial services closer to Zambians living in both rural and urban Zambian."
Labels: BANKING, ZANACO
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Chitala urges re-negotiation of Rabobank's stake in Zanaco
By Kombe Chimpinde
Mon 20 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT
SEIZING Rabobank's 49 per cent stake in Zanaco will be injurious to the country's financial sector, says Dr Mbita Chita.
Commenting on Dr Lubinda Habazooka's recent observation that the reversal of the sale of 49 per cent shares of Zanaco Bank to Rabobank of Netherlands would be detrimental to the country's economic and financial stability, Dr Chitala, who is an economist, said the government must instead
re-negotiate various conditions with the bank in view of the various irregularities cited through submissions presented before the Sebastian Zulu-led Commission of Inquiry that sat to probe the sale.
"When we (Zambians) investigated Zanaco, we found that there was a problem in the transaction. Instead of the Ministry of Finance being at the centre, they transferred the process to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while the permanent secretary there became the chairman of the board," Dr Chitala said in an interview.
"So the evaluation of the company also was faulty, where instead of using market criteria, they used a net value of 1983 which was contrary to the Zambia Public Procurement Agency (ZPPA) Act, which stipulates that any evaluation of any company must be based on the market value."
He, however, said those that perpetrated irregularities during the sale of Zanaco, which was sold at U$8.25 million, must not be let off the hook.
"Let those who broke the law be challenged to explain why they did it," said Dr Chitala.
Labels: MBITA CHITALA, PRIVATISATION, RABOBANK, ZANACO
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Sata was part of Zanaco sale, claims Kunda
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sun 12 Feb. 2012, 11:40 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata was part of the decision to privatise Zanaco despite probing the transaction today, says former vice-president George Kunda. And Kunda has accused the PF government of "hiding in the pro-poor policies" in pursuing socialist and communist policies of grabbing private properties and stifling private enterprises.
Submitting on behalf of the MMD to the Sebastian Zulu-led commission of inquiry probing the US $8.25 million sale of 49 per cent of Zamtel to Rabobank in 2007, Kunda said selling Zanaco was one of the key conditionalities from key donors to cancel Zambia's external debt from about US $7 billion to under US $600 million in post-HIPC era.
Kunda also accused President Sata of being part of the MMD government which wanted to sell majority stake in both Zesco and Zanaco.
"Including President Sata, he was in the government and he was part of that decision to privatise Zanaco, and the cooperating partners to ensure that Zanaco and the financial sector was reformed," said Kunda who was accompanied to the submission by lawyer Rabson Malipenga.
"Because we agreed with IMF that we are going to privatise Zanaco, and we performed our obligations and undertakings under that agreement, if we had not done so, credibility of the government would have been put on the line because of the agreed programme with the IMF. We would not have benefited from the Group 8 initiative."
Kunda also laughed at claims by finance minister at the time of Zanaco sale, Ngandu Magande, that he was not involved in the sale and had no information about how the proceeds could have been used.
"It was not my responsibility as minister of finance to privatise any companies. That was the duty of the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA) and I followed the regulations of the duties of the minister of finance," Magande told the commission last week.
But Kunda explained that Magande was fully aware that privatising Zanaco was a priority of the government at that time.
"It is important to note that the debt relief programme is to go on until the year 2020, US $3.8 billion was written off on reaching the HIPC completion point," he said. "And Mr Magande boasts about…he says, he is Mr HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative) because of what we achieved through privatising Zanaco. Now, he comes here and he says that he had no knowledge. It was a programme of the minister of finance and commerce programme. It was a conditionality and he had to give assurances as minister of finance to the international community.
"If you go through the Letters of Intent, you are going to see that Mr Magande was fully aware of the Zanaco situation, and the need to privatise and the mode of privatisation, the percentage and why we needed an equity partner who would take over the bank with management rights as was the case with Rabobank."
Kunda accused the PF government of attempting to nationalise a bank that was performing very well after privatisation to abuse its resources.
"I am worried Mr Chairman that if you reverse the privatisation in accordance with your socialist/communist policies, you will be violating our understanding with the IMF, the African Development Bank because as a country, we have benefited from this privatisation of Zanaco through debt relief and debt write off," said Kunda. "The money which should have gone to debt relief, we are able to use it as a country for poverty reduction programme for development of the country. Our fear is that we shouldn't go back to those days when, as government, we were interfering so much. When the government of that time was interfering in the operations of banks things like unsecured loans and things like that."
Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, MICHAEL SATA, MMD, ZANACO
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Rabobank fears for its reputation over Zanaco deal
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tue 07 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
RABOBANK fears damage to its reputation by the ongoing probe into how it acquired 46 per cent stake in Zanaco, says Netherlands-based corporate affairs director Arnold Kuijpers.
And Kuijpers says Rabobank paid the US $8.25 million it bought Zanaco for, contrary to some witnesses who testified that there is no documentary evidence the Treasury received the proceeds of selling the 2010 euromoney best bank in Zambia.
Meanwhile, chairman of the commission of inquiry Sebastian Zulu yesterday quizzed witnesses on the lack of adequate representation of Zambians on the board of the "truly Zambian bank".
Kuijpers, the first Zanaco board chairman in the post-privatisation era, said the Dutch financial giant wanted to maintain its high reputation levels in each country it had operations in.
"One of the very important issues for Rabobank that do we really engage in this part of the world or any other part, avoiding reputation damage is crucial," Kuijpers said. "We need not to be seen in the Netherlands, United States, in Europe or any other country as a bank that would be involved in practice that would not be fully legal. That creates a huge damage to us."
Kuijpers said Bank of Zambia had provided a waiver for Rabobank to own more than the maximum 25 per cent maximum shareholding restriction for any investor in a commercial bank operating in Zambia.
He presented a letter from BoZ confirming the waiver. And Kuijpers gave a breakdown of how Zanaco paid the sale and purchase price of US$8.25 million in 2007, with the bulk of money deposited into Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA) account.
"At the completion date, one of the documents, which is the share purchase agreement has been signed in January of 2007," said Kuijpers.
"At that moment in time, Rabobank was asked to deposit 10 per cent of the consideration equal to US $825,000. It was agreed between the consultant of the government PwC PricewaterhouseCoppers of Kenya and the government that the fee for PwC would be paid at the day completion, but they sued Rabobank instead of government. So, the money being paid at Rabobank at completion was US $8.25 million minus the 10 per cent deposited in January and minus US $665,000 that was paid to PwC for consultancy offered to government and for the remaining amount that was paid by Rabobank was US $6.76 million which was paid into the GRZ privatisation revenue account held at Zanaco, held with account number 003041000000008747 and it was done via an international swift transfer."
And Zulu, who is also justice minister, said a number of witnesses had complained of lack of representation of Zambians on the Zanaco board in the post-privatisation era.
Zanaco is currently owned 46 per cent by Rabobank which is also responsible for appointing three board of directors which includes both the chairman and chief executive officer.
The government owns 25 per cent and nominates two executive directors to the board, while Zambia National Farmers Union which owns three per cent stake in the Bank has one independent board of directors.
The more than three thousand Zambian individuals and institution investors who won the 26 per cent listed stake in the bank have no representation on the board.
This structural setup has rattled some nationalists and ordinary citizens, and Zulu quizzed both Kuijpers and Zanaco managing director Martyn Schouten.
But Schouten explained at the time of privatisation, Rabobank bought the bank together with management rights. Schouten said there was nothing irregular or illegal in the manner Rabobank acquired majority stake of Zanaco.
"Rabobank controls 46 per cent shareholding in Zanaco and its single largest shareholder in Zanaco," said Schouten. "Therefore, it is just logical that the single largest investor who is also a strategic investor should have an important responsibility in the management of affairs of the business."
On the continued absence of shareholder on the board to represent the minority shareholders comprising Zambian individuals and institutions holding their stake in the bank via listed entity on Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE), Schouten said: "The board of directors and management are aware of this as it has been an Annual General Meeting (AGM) item in the past and we are currently looking at finding a possible solution which shall be taken to the AGM for discussion."
And former commerce permanent secretary Dr Davidson Chilipamushi said price was not the sole consideration when the government sold Zanaco to Rabobank.
Chilipamushi, who was the last chairman of Zanaco before the contentious privatisation process opposed by key stakeholders like opposition political parties, unions and the church, said there was nothing illegal and irregular about the Zanaco sale.
Labels: PRIVATISATION, RABOBANK, ZANACO
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MoF was involved in privatisation of Zanaco - Lungu
By Ernest Chanda
Sun 05 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
MUHABI Lungu says the Ministry of Finance was fully involved in the privatisation of Zanaco's 49 per cent shareholding although he is not sure of the minister's knowledge regarding proceeds from the transaction.
In an interview, Lungu who is former Zambia Development Agency ) director of Investment Promotions and Privatisation said whenever a state entity was being privatised, the line ministry was fully aware of the whole process.
Former finance minister Ng'andu Magande on Friday told the Sebastian Zulu-led Commission of Inquiry into the sale of Zanaco's 49 percent shares that the ministry did not play a role in the privatisation of the bank.
But Lungu said according to the ZDA Act, the relevant ministry was constantly informed about the whole development.
"According to the ZDA Act, the proceeds of all sales from the transaction of a privatised company go into a Privatisation Trust Fund which is held by ZDA. I don't know whether the minister is aware but the Ministry is aware that this money has gone into the Privatisation Trust Account. According to the ZDA Act, the money is only remitted to the government upon request by the government," Lungu explained.
"I don't want to appear to be answering what Mr Magande has said. So I don't want to respond to Mr Magande, I'm going to respond to the process. All state owned companies are held in Trust by the government, by the Ministry of Finance. They've got a department there called IDM, Investment and Debt Management. So, all the companies are held in Trust by the Ministry of Finance for government."
Lungu said any privatisation process started with the line ministry which gave policy direction.
He said for Zanaco, it was under the jurisdiction of two relevant ministries.
"That is the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce. And I can only assume that the policy direction was given by those two ministries in terms of whether to privatise or not. Once a directive has been given that privatisation must now commence, then the relevant organisation then becomes Zambia Development Agency," said Lungu.
"The chances are that the US $8 million is in an escrow Account with ZDA because that is a ZDA loan. The money is only remitted to government upon request by the government. And the reason is very simple: when transactions have been finished and then workers perhaps had been declared redundant take their government to court and the court awards them compensation, what you don't want to do is give the money to the ministry because they sue ZDA, they don't sue government. So they will be paid from this account."
Appearing before the Zanaco Commission of Inquiry on Friday, Magande expressed ignorance about the whereabouts of the US$8.25 million paid by Rabo Bank of the Netherlands for the 49 per cent Zanaco shares.
Magande could not give categorical answers to some questions that were asked during his submissions to the Commission.
"I signed the sale and purchase agreement, shareholder agreement and management services agreement and I used to sign many other agreements giving away government assets bearing in mind that the documents were prepared by technical people at ZPA and that the Attorney General has endorsed them," said Magande.
"The finance ministry had a role in privatising Zanaco and it was convinced that ZPA negotiators would come up with a good price. So, I never got into details on how they arrived at US$8.25 million."
Labels: CORRUPTION, IMF, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, MUHABI LUNGU, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, PRIVATISATION, ZAMBIA PRIVATISATION TRUST FUND, ZANACO
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COMMENT - More corruption coming out of the IMF. The Zambian government should sue them for tens of billions of dollars, because of loss of income, and loss of value due to the 'privatisation' process. By comparison, Zambia lost more money ($10s of billions) through privatisation, than is given to the entire continent of Africa in charible giving in a year ($6 billion). Privatisation is as scam, and so is 'Donor Aid' (which is $250 billion a year to the African continent).
Zanaco was a profitable bank, says former board member
By Kabanda Chulu
Fri 03 Feb. 2012, 13:00 CAT
IT is difficult to understand why the MMD government and its negotiating team insisted to pursue a flawed transaction process in selling a profitable bank, says former Zanaco board member Chiteta Ching'ambo.
Making submissions to the commission of inquiry into the sale of Zanaco yesterday in Lusaka, Ching'ambo, who was in charge of the audit sub-committee from 2003 to 2007, said the government through the Ministry of Finance, was advised that adopting the net asset value system was not the right way to sell Zanaco shares.
Net asset value method is usually applied when a company is under liquidation but Zanaco was fully operational and making profits at the time of privatisation.
Ching'ambo said some items in the share purchase agreement were not sincere.
"For instance, there is a clause that the value of the London Branch buildings shall remain the same as it was when the bank was evaluated in 2004 but this clearly contributed to undervaluation of the bank and I don't understand why such exception was made," Ching'ambo said.
"So it is difficult to understand why government and its negotiators followed this process which was not transparent and beneficial to the nation considering that the bank was profitable and its interim valuation report of 2003 revealed that Zanaco was worth between US$24 million and US$30 million."
When asked if government negotiators were not aware that the net asset value method will not result in higher returns, Ching'ambo said it was difficult to ascertain what they (negotiators) were thinking.
"There was very little information flowing from the negotiators to the board and management but when we heard some figures, we thought Zanaco was grossly undervalued and when we met the finance minister (Ng'andu Magande) and negotiators, we learnt that they were inclined to use the net asset value method but this system has serious flaws, especially when you don't do adjustments like including the current value of properties, land and buildings," he said.
"Interest from bonds (which government issued) alone would have been US$7 million per annum and this is what the valuation should have looked at instead of focusing on historical information."
He said that a false impression was created that Zanaco was making losses.
"This was not true because Zanaco, during a five-year period performed well and recorded some profit before tax amounting to K7.58 billion (2002), K3.58 billion (2003), K12.8 billion (2004), K44.8 billion (2005) and K39.2 billion (2006), this was the period when interest was denied on bonds issued by government and Bank of Zambia had imposed lending limits to only K500 million per client," Ching'ambo said.
"But despite the biggest assets (loans) not earning interest, Zanaco endeavoured to operate normally and at no point has Zanaco faced problems that could have been irredeemable."
He explained that some challenges faced by Zanaco started when the bank lent out US$69.9 million to Zambia National Oil Company (ZNOC) and US$9 million to Roan Antelope Mining Corporation (RAMCOZ).
"These two loans became delinquent (non-performing) and caused problems to the bank hence Zanaco was left with no option but to place the two entities on receivership but it was government's intention with persuasion from the IMF that ZNOC be liquidated while RAMCOZ be sold to another investor but government could not pursue this line because the companies were on receivership. So government negotiated with Zanaco and took over the debts and agreed to issue bonds amounting to K248.9 billion that will cushion the debts," Ching'ambo said.
"At issuance, it was agreed that bonds would accrue interest but before bonds were issued, IMF intervened that interest be paid after privatisation and for two and half years no interest was paid and this issue became the biggest asset of the bank which was non-performing. As a consequence of this, the London Financial Services authority put pressure that debts be paid in full or Zanaco should close its London Branch and also BoZ restricted lending to K500 million only per client."
Ching'ambo continued that it was difficult to understand the pressure exerted by IMF (not to pay interest on bonds) and why government obliged to ‘strangle its own baby' (Zanaco).
"ZNOC debt was guaranteed while the RAMCOZ one was secured by its assets. So Zanaco could have recovered the debt without government spending taxpayer's money through disposal of assets and Zanaco lost two. And half years of interest amounting to more than K100 billion of income and had we had this kind of money, with no restrictions and without ZPA/ZDA control, Zanaco could have moved forward," he said.
However, Ching'ambo said government paid first installment on interest in 2005 amounting to K17.4 billion and the second installment in 2006 amounting to K11 billion.
"These amounts were paid without consulting Zanaco and they were determined by government thus putting the bank in a precarious position because sometimes we came up with interim results thinking that government would service the bonds but to no avail. Also Zanaco was under pressure to budget for massive retrenchments and to reduce the staff pension scheme which stood at K27.9 billion," said Ching'ambo.
"As a result of these conditions, the London branch closed operations and it was impossible to manage operations of Zanaco. It was like being on care and maintenance and an impression was created that the bank was making loss but we pulled through, made little profits and very few banks could have survived under these conditions but it demonstrated how big, strong and reliable Zanaco is."
Labels: IMF, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, PRIVATISATION, ZANACO
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Ministry of Finance had no role in privatising Zanaco - Magande
By Kabanda Chulu
Sat 04 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
NG'ANDU Magande yesterday told the Commission of Inquiry into the sale of Zanaco that he was not sure if the US$ 8.25 million paid by Rabo Bank for acquisition of 49 per cent shares went to the Treasury account.
And Copperbelt University Professor Juvenalis Tembo has said the negotiating team was not involved in determining the price of selling Zanaco shares and selection of the preferred bidder (Rabo Bank).
Magande, who was finance minister during the partial privatisation of Zanaco, could not give categorical answers to some questions that were asked during his submissions to the Commission.
He explained that the role of the finance minister in the process of privatisation was to sign away government assets held in state-owned enterprises that were sold.
"I signed the sale and purchase agreement, shareholder agreement and management services agreement and I used to sign many other agreements giving away government assets bearing in mind that the documents were prepared by technical people at ZPA and that the Attorney General has endorsed them," Magande said.
"The finance ministry had no role in privatising Zanaco and it was convinced that ZPA negotiators would come up with a good price so I never got into details on how they arrived at US$8.25 million."
When asked why he did not show interest in selling of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) especially Zanaco considering that the minister of finance is the custodian of government assets, Magande responded that his office was too busy to know full details of the transaction.
"Privatisation was not a subject matter of the job description that was given by the appointing authority and the process involved selling of over 300 SOEs so I would not look into the detailed transaction of each company. Besides the ministry of finance has no officer to undertake valuation because there is the government valuation department," Magande said.
"Bulk documents were brought to my office and I just signed and with Zanaco I signed the conclusion of the sales agreement though I was not part of the negotiations and US$8.25 million was too little to get my attention since I focused on much bigger things like the budget overrun that had occurred during that period and putting in place measures to ensure that the US$7.1billion debt was cancelled."
When asked how proceeds from privatisation were used and if at all Rabo Bank paid for the acquired shares, Magande said the privatisation Act had guidelines on usage of the funds.
"Money was paid by Rabo Bank but I am not sure if it went into the treasury or if an account was opened elsewhere," he said.
When asked if he played any role in the privatisation of Zanaco, Magande responded that he was briefed by the Zanaco chairman and other officials.
"I never interfered because it was not within my responsibilities and when they concluded negotiations the ZDA brought documents and I signed and also there was time when Vedanta bought KCM, again they brought documents saying this is urgent and I signed and I was aware about some concerns raised by stakeholders but I passed them over to ZPA officials," said Magande.
And founding chairman of Zanaco Andrew Kashita said the defective privatisation process of Zanaco must not be blamed on Rabo Bank but on Zambian negotiators who lacked national interest.
"We demand the publication of the valuation report and the technical and sales agreements. It is also difficult to understand why our people settled for this deal," said Kashita.
And Prof Tembo said he was appointed chairman of the negotiating team when Rabo Bank had already been selected as the preferred bidder.
"We were not involved in the selection of the bidder and we don't know how they arrived at the value price because we were just told to go and negotiate but terms and conditions had already been agreed so my team was just editing and not really negotiating," said Prof Tembo.
Labels: MINISTRY OF FINANCE, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, ZANACO
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Ministry of Finance had no role in privatising Zanaco - Magande
By Kabanda Chulu
Sat 04 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
NG'ANDU Magande yesterday told the Commission of Inquiry into the sale of Zanaco that he was not sure if the US$ 8.25 million paid by Rabo Bank for acquisition of 49 per cent shares went to the Treasury account.
And Copperbelt University Professor Juvenalis Tembo has said the negotiating team was not involved in determining the price of selling Zanaco shares and selection of the preferred bidder (Rabo Bank).
Magande, who was finance minister during the partial privatisation of Zanaco, could not give categorical answers to some questions that were asked during his submissions to the Commission.
He explained that the role of the finance minister in the process of privatisation was to sign away government assets held in state-owned enterprises that were sold.
"I signed the sale and purchase agreement, shareholder agreement and management services agreement and I used to sign many other agreements giving away government assets bearing in mind that the documents were prepared by technical people at ZPA and that the Attorney General has endorsed them," Magande said.
"The finance ministry had no role in privatising Zanaco and it was convinced that ZPA negotiators would come up with a good price so I never got into details on how they arrived at US$8.25 million."
When asked why he did not show interest in selling of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) especially Zanaco considering that the minister of finance is the custodian of government assets, Magande responded that his office was too busy to know full details of the transaction.
"Privatisation was not a subject matter of the job description that was given by the appointing authority and the process involved selling of over 300 SOEs so I would not look into the detailed transaction of each company. Besides the ministry of finance has no officer to undertake valuation because there is the government valuation department," Magande said.
"Bulk documents were brought to my office and I just signed and with Zanaco I signed the conclusion of the sales agreement though I was not part of the negotiations and US$8.25 million was too little to get my attention since I focused on much bigger things like the budget overrun that had occurred during that period and putting in place measures to ensure that the US$7.1billion debt was cancelled."
When asked how proceeds from privatisation were used and if at all Rabo Bank paid for the acquired shares, Magande said the privatisation Act had guidelines on usage of the funds.
"Money was paid by Rabo Bank but I am not sure if it went into the treasury or if an account was opened elsewhere," he said.
When asked if he played any role in the privatisation of Zanaco, Magande responded that he was briefed by the Zanaco chairman and other officials.
"I never interfered because it was not within my responsibilities and when they concluded negotiations the ZDA brought documents and I signed and also there was time when Vedanta bought KCM, again they brought documents saying this is urgent and I signed and I was aware about some concerns raised by stakeholders but I passed them over to ZPA officials," said Magande.
And founding chairman of Zanaco Andrew Kashita said the defective privatisation process of Zanaco must not be blamed on Rabo Bank but on Zambian negotiators who lacked national interest.
"We demand the publication of the valuation report and the technical and sales agreements. It is also difficult to understand why our people settled for this deal," said Kashita.
And Prof Tembo said he was appointed chairman of the negotiating team when Rabo Bank had already been selected as the preferred bidder.
"We were not involved in the selection of the bidder and we don't know how they arrived at the value price because we were just told to go and negotiate but terms and conditions had already been agreed so my team was just editing and not really negotiating," said Prof Tembo.
Labels: MINISTRY OF FINANCE, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, PRIVATISATION, ZANACO
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Magande describes commissions of inquiries as a waste of time, calls on Sata to focus on developing Zambia
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, February 4, 2012, 9:24 am
Former finance and national planning minister Ng’andu Magande has charged that the number of commissions of inquiry is slowing down the pace of development for country. Mr. Magande has described the commissions of inquiry as a waste of time for senior government officials who are suppose to attend to pressing national issues.
He says the time wasted on the commissions of inquiry could well be channeled to addressing the many challenges facing the majority Zambians. Mr. Magande in an interview on the side lines of the ZANACO commission of inquiry has however stated that he is available for any explanation that might require his questioning on issues to with his time in government.
He says he has nothing to hide during the time he served as finance minister in late president Levy Mwanawasa’s government. Mr. Magande has since pleaded with republican President Michael Sata to concentrate on developing the country.
And yesterday told the Sebastian Zulu led tribunal on the sale of Zanaco to Rabo Bank that he does not know how the US$8.25 million raised from the sale of the bank was used.
Mr Magande said he was not sure whether the amount raised from the sale of the bank was deposited into the national treasury.
Mr Magande denied ever interfering in the process of privatising the Zambian bank, saying all the proceeds from the sale went to the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA).
“The money was paid by Rabo Bank but I am not sure if it went to the treasury or an account was opened elsewhere.
“It was not my responsibility as minister of Finance to privatise any companies. That was the duty of the ZPA and I followed the regulations of the duties of the minister of Finance,” he said.
Mr Magande said the responsibility of the minister of Finance in the transaction was only to sign away assets held by the state that had already been sold.
Mr Magande said he was not aware how the valuations of the assets were conducted as he signed the sale and purchase documents on an understanding that the technocrats who conducted the valuation were competent enough.
“The ministry of Finance had no role in privatising Zanaco and it was convinced that ZPA negotiators would come up with a good price and I never got into details on how they arrived at $8.25 million.
“I had a lot of things to attend to and I could not have looked at Zanaco, I was not concerned with its privatisation,” he said.
[Times of Zambia/QFM]
Labels: CORRUPTION, NG'ANDU MAGANDE, PRIVATISATION, ZANACO
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Magande exonerates himself from ZANACO sale
TIME PUBLISHED - Friday, February 3, 2012, 1:56 pm
Former finance minister in the late president Levy Mwanawasa’s Government Ng’andu Magande says he was too busy with the country’s problems to concentrate on the privatization of ZANACO.
QFM News reports that appearing before the Sebastian Zulu commission of inquiry this morning, Mr Magande who is believed to be the architect of the ZANACO privatization said Zambia was facing many economic problems at the time for him to concentrate on the sale of the bank.
He has however admitted signing the final sale and purchase agreement for ZANACO.
Mr Magande said it would not have made sense for him to preside over a transaction that only involved a few million dollars.
He says among the issues that kept him busy at the time were issues to do with debt burden Zambia was encountering.
Mr.Magande has since denied influencing the privatization of ZANACO.
And Juvelis Tembo told the commission of inquiry that while he was the chairperson of the negotiating team on the sale of ZANACO he was not involved in the bidding process.
He also stated that the sale of 49 percent shares in ZANACO was never discussed.
QFM
Labels: NG'ANDU MAGANDE, PRIVATISATION, ZANACO
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ZANACO evaluation fraudulent
TIME PUBLISHED - Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 5:09 pm
The evaluation of ZANACO is said to have been fraudulent, irregular and massively undervalued. And the Net Asset Value methodology used to evaluate ZANACO was problematic and unprofessionally done.
These are the findings established by the Technical Committee on the privatization of ZANACO. Technical Committee Advisor to the Commission of Inquiry Michael Musonda said the Net Asset Value could only have been used if the bank was on the brink of liquidation.
Mr. Musonda submitted to the Sebastian Zulu chaired committee of inquiry that ZANACO had never been known to be on the brink of liquidation.
He told the committee that the method used by the evaluator, Price Waters Coopers, was illegal and unwarranted.
Mr. Musonda submitted that the most ideal value method which was the market valuation price of the 49 per cent stake in the bank could have been in the range of between US$18.4 million and US$23.4 million.
He said this was in contrast of the between US$8.1million and US$8.8 million established by the evaluator to be the market price.
Mr. Musonda submitted that the then ZAMBIA Privatization Agency-ZPA abrogated its mandate by allowing DFID to engage an evaluator of ZANACO assets.
He said that responsibility should have been solely handled by ZPA.
[ZNBC]
Labels: DFID, PRIVATISATION, ZANACO
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Valuation of Zanaco wasn't done properly - Kashita
By Kabanda Chulu
Tue 31 Jan. 2012, 13:00 CAT
THE valuation of Zanaco Plc assets was not done properly because
some properties owned by the bank are worth more than the K42 billion (US$ 8.25 million) paid by Rabobank, says Andrew Kashita.
Welcoming President Michael Sata's directive that the sale of Zanaco be investigated to ascertain if the transaction met the criteria of the privatisation programme, Kashita, who was a minority shareholder at the time the bank was sold, said many concerns were raised but the previous government gave no answers.
He said it was a big anomaly to offer the bank for sale in 2007 based on 2004 financial accounts.
"During campaigns for 2006 elections, late President Mwanawasa announced that government has no intention of selling the bank but in 2007, they changed their minds and sold the bank without informing Zambians, including some of us who had minority shares. They also brought the ZNOC debt of K248 billion to Zanaco," Kashita said.
"As shareholders, we demanded to see the evaluation report to understand how the value of shares was determined to arrive at this figure (US$8.25 million) which can amount to certain properties and assets owned by the bank but then finance and commerce ministers Ng'andu Magande and Kenneth Konga respectively, and their team were not cooperative and up to now this report is not available despite the bank having been listed at the stock exchange. So we are totally dissatisfied with the way Zanaco was sold."
He said that irregularities characterised the sale of Zanaco.
"It is fine for Zanaco to have new banking technology but we still feel this deal was not properly done because the criteria used to give four per cent shares to ZNFU was not transparent and it is also costly to have a chairman who lives in Netherlands but board meetings are held in Zambia," said Kashita.
"Minority shareholders were not allowed on the negotiating team and ordinarily, financial institutions in Zambia fall under the finance ministry but Zanaco was placed under the ministry of commerce and the number of directors has been reduced to six, thus lacking countrywide representation. So we hope the Commission of Inquiry will provide answers to these concerns."
And sources at Zanaco disclosed that Rabobank has sold everything including institutional houses and the training centre hostels.
"When a manager is transferred, the bank has to keep him in a hotel whilst looking for a house and when people are being trained they stay in hotels too, which is costly," said the sources.
"Even the US$3 million availed to the bank for training is applied by Rabobank officials from Netherlands who bring in foreign consultants who are not even fluent in English and they have disturbed salary structures whereby some people having similar grades are paid differently."
When asked to comment about the Commission of Inquiry looking into the sale of Zanaco, Konga said he has no comment and that the government was at liberty to launch investigations into any matter.
Former commerce permanent secretary Davidson Chilipamushi, who was board chairman when Zanaco was sold, said the commission would find out if anything was done ‘under the belt.'
"But I am confident everything was done transparently and the negotiating team did their best as records could show at ZDA," said Chilipamushi.
Zanaco was sold in April 2007 for US$ 8.25 million, with Konga assuring that the actual sale price of the bank would be known after three months at the completion of the evaluation of assets.
Konga told Parliament that in accordance with the sale and purchase agreement between government and Rabo bank, 10 per cent of the offer price was received on 22 January 2007 while the remainder was received on 3rd April 2007.
Konga disclosed that Rabo Bank's gross bid on net assets of the bank as at 31st December 2004 was at US$10 million, adding that government would within 90 days appoint an independent consultant to evaluate the net asset value of the bank.
Zanaco's net assets as at 31 December 2004 stood at US$20.5 million.
Zanaco's 49 per cent shares were sold to Rabo Financial Institutions Development, RFID, a subsidiary of Rabobank.
RFID and in accordance with the sale and purchase agreement between the Zambian government and the bank, took over the management and operations of Zanaco after the completion of the sale.
Rabo bank's acquired 49 per cent with the understanding that four per cent will be sold to the ZNFU and in 2009, the government offloaded 25. 8 per cent shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange.
Labels: ANDREW KASHITA, PRIVATISATION, RABOBANK, ZANACO
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President MIchael Sata sets ZANACO as the next target
TIME PUBLISHED - Saturday, January 28, 2012, 4:38 pm
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has directed Minister of Justice Sebastian Zulu to immediately probe the sale of the Zambia National Commercial (Zanaco) Bank to establish whether procedure was followed when Dutch bankers Rabo acquired a 49 percent stake in the institution in 2007.
The probe comes days after Government reversed the sale of telecom’s company, Zamtel, whose controversial 75 percent stake belonged to Libya’s LAPGreen but has now been placed in government hands.
The Zulu-led probe team, which will also hold public meetings starting February 1 – according to a notice published – will officially try “to determine how the sale of Zanaco was conducted and to establish whether privatisation requirements were met”.
Chana Musakanya, the bank spokesperson in an emailed statement yesterday, said “Zanaco will co-operate fully with the Commission, and has been doing so upon request. We look forward to the review of the privatisation process of Zanaco, which was extensive and took place over a period of many years.”
Government has also assured – through chief government spokesman Fackson Shamenda – that business will not get hurt during and after the probe.
Mr Shamenda said: “This is a routine check into the sale of the bank as the Government attempts to normalise some old parastatal transactions. I would like to assure both shareholders and depositors that everything is under control and no-one is bound to be hurt.”
Mr Shamenda said the exercise will extend beyond the Euro-money Award recipient of 2011 to other parastatals, in a bid to ensure that the laws of the country were followed during the transactions.
Zanaco has the largest branch network countrywide, with more than 60 branches to its credit and it also has a district representation through a partnership with Zampost, making it the largest bank by representation in Zambia, according to information on its website.
It employs more than 1, 300 employees and is also the most capitalised bank in the country, according to management, but this information has not been verified with the central bank, which keeps such records, especially after capitalisation numbers for both local and foreign banks were recently hiked by BoZ.
President Sata said during the campaign period for last year’s elections that he would investigate some transactions that occurred while he was opposition leader to establish that they were done above board.
Zanaco is among the top five banks in Zambia out of a total of 18 registered commercial banks.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Labels: FACKSON SHAMENDA, LAP GREEN, MICHAEL SATA, ZAMTEL, ZANACO
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