Outspoken Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda shares a light moment with former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa at a Farewell reception for outgoing Chinese Ambassador Li Quamin.
ZAMTEL managing director Hans Paulsen said the freezing of LAP Green’s 75 per cent shareholding has not hurt the operations of the company.
Zamtel, the country’s sole total telecommunications provider has rebranded all its units to be called Zamtel.
Paulsen said Zamtel continued to operate normally and embarking on expansion programmes that would see it grab about 25 per cent of the mobile phone market share by 2016 from the current seven.
Paulsen said the developments in Libya would not affect the operations of the company and that there was no need for customers to worry.
“LAP Green’s 75 per cent shares in Zamtel have been frozen, just like the Minister of Finance and National Planning intimated to Parliament recently,” Paulsen told journalists.
“What it means is that LAP Green can’t get their dividends out of Zamtel or transfer the shares. And in any case, Zamtel is not yet in a position to declare any dividends.”
He, however, expressed optimism that the government, which currently owns 25 per cent shares in the company, would help to ensure that the company’s operations were not affected.
Last month, finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane announced that Zambia had frozen assets belonging to the Libyan government and its leaders in compliance with a United Nations resolution.
Top on the list is LAP Green’s 75 per cent Zamtel, bought last year by Libya’s LAP Green Networks for US $257 million in a deal criticised by key stakeholders and the opposition political parties.
“My government will ensure compliance in the management of these assets to comply with the UN resolution,” Dr Musokotwane told Parliament.
And Paulsen announced that all units under Zamtel would continue using one brand name called Zamtel.
Paulsen also said Zamtel continued to enjoy market confidence in Zambia despite its links to the Muammar Gaddafi regime through LAP Green. The Gaddafi administration is currently raging a war against Libyans pushing for an end to his 41-year rein.
ZAMTEL will establish more than 500 base stations to cover about 80 per cent of the country with its mobile network.
Zamtel chief executive officer Hans Paulsen said his company would undertake an aggressive expansion strategy that would make the mobile phone unit more relevant to customers and the country at large.
The rebranded telecommunications firm’s mobile unit, formerly Cell-Z, will grow by 25 per cent in the next five years.
Mr Paulsen said Zamtel would make sure it maintained its dominance on the fixed landline service and then lead Zambia’s internet revolution through the Zamtel broadband service.
Mr Paulsen said the fight to capture a significant portion of the market-share would start with the setting up of 565 base stations (masts) across the country for both 2G and 3G systems on mobile phones.
The first site is expected to be switched on in June this year.
The sites would have 450 of them for the common 2G (Second Generation) and the other 115 for the 3G system.
This would mean 80 per cent of the country would be covered by the Zamtel mobile network.
“In the last six months, we have grown by 32 per cent, and that is with the old, tiring and boring brand. But now with the new brand and more services and better infrastructure, it will be possible to grow even bigger,” he said.
He said Zamtel had signed an agreement with Chinese Telecommunication giant ZTE whose partners Huawei would be unrolling base stations.
He said with the 32 per cent growth in the last six months, Zamtel mobile customer base had risen to just more than 500 000 and expects it to grow more.
The company policy being that it spends 15 per cent of profit on marketing, Zamtel mobile and the two other services-land line and broadband- would become more relevant to the Zambians.
He said the new circle on the rebranded Zamtel logo signified the infinity Zamtel would go as far as possible to meet the customersí needs.
Paulsen said mobile phone unit popularly called Cell Z, Zamtel Online are some of the brand names that would stop to exist and fall under the Zamtel name.
After acquiring 75 per cent shares of Zamtel, LAP Green announced plans to inject US $120 million in the firm to recapitalise and boost the operations of telecommunication company.
Although Zamtel was sold last year in a deal orchestrated by former transport minister Dora Siliya, President Rupiah Banda’s son Henry and Cayman Islands-based RP Capital, ZDA were later involved as an investment and privatisation wing of the government.
LAP Green is wholly state-owned via the Libyan Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund established under Gaddafi as an investment vehicle for windfall revenues from oil revenues.
Kabwata MP Given Lubinda has accused Libya’s LAP Green managers of externalizing money from Zambia despite Zambia freezing its 75 per cent stake in line with the UN resolution 1973 of 2011.
Lubinda told a local newspaper that there was need to remove LAP Green-appointed top officials in Zamtel to halt further “siphoning” of the money.
“We have impeccable evidence of the fact that money is leaving Zamtel to offshore accounts,” Lubinda said in an interview. “Why is that money being allowed to be siphoned out of Zamtel? While we appreciate that LAP green has invested large amounts of money in Zamtel, the rate at which Zamtel is losing money to foreign accounts, we have no doubt that within the next three to four months, the total investments made by LAP green in Zamtel will have been externalised, and at that stage, Zamtel will be left a shell of itself.”
Lubinda said freezing of the Lap Green assets would only make sense if the management was also withdrawn from “the owners of those shares.”
“I want to challenge the government of Zambia to indicate to the Zambians how Zambia is controlling the externalisation of resources from Zamtel,” Lubinda said. “What measures are being put in place to ensure the proceeds from Zamtel are not being externalised to fund Libya’s wars. Freezing the asset and still allow the owners of the asset to run it is not freezing at all. It’s a mockery, cosmetic and meant to hoodwink the international community. ”
Lubinda said while countries like Uganda and Rwanda were implementing the UN resolutions by taking over management of the affected assets, the hands of the government of Rupiah Banda were tied owing to the corrupt manner in which they sold Zamtel.
Lubinda described as “cosmetic and smokescreen”, the announcement that Zambia had frozen LAP Green’s 75 per cent stake in Zamtel which it bought last year in transaction criticised by key stakeholders and the opposition political parties.
“The so-called rebranding of Zamtel is nothing but a smokescreen by LAP Green in collusion with the government of Mr Rupiah Banda,” he said. “They are trying to hoodwink Zambians that everything is in order, that Zambia is in control when in effect Zambia has no control whatsoever in the management of Zamtel. For as long as the operations are under the control of Lap Green and their agents, then the freezing of assets is nothing but cosmetic. You can only do that if you follow what Uganda and others have done, and that is to not only freeze the shares and also take over the management of the asset. That is the only way you can claim to be implementing the resolution 1973 of UN to the letter and in the spirit of the law.”
Lubinda, who is chairperson of African Parliamentarians Against Corruption (APNAC), advised Zamtel managing director Hans Paulsen not to act as spokesperson of the Zambian government.
“Poulsen and all his friends who are running Zamtel are appointees of LAP Green in Libya and the ones running LAP green were appointed by Muammar Gaddafi,” Lubinda said. “There is no way they can now separate themselves from Gaddafi, now that he is at war with his people. Gaddafi and his people still have total control of all institutions he created including LAP Green.”
And Lubinda said Siliya would die with the responsibility of explaining everything that would happen to Zamtel. He said there was no reason whatsoever why government could not do that which was expected of it under UN Security Council resolution until such a time that everyone was satisfied that proceeds from Zamtel would not go into feeding Gaddafi’s war to exterminate Libyans pushing a popular uprising to end his 41-year old tyrannical rule.
Although Zamtel was sold last year in a deal orchestrated by former transport minister Siliya, President Rupiah Banda’s son Henry and Cayman Islands-based RP Capital, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) were later involved as an investment and privatisation wing of the government.
“Instead of LAP Green struggling to clarify this matter, can the ministers of finance and transport, especially the architect of selling of Zamtel because there is more to it than meets the eye,” said Lubinda.
“She (Siliya) individually against advice from experts, Attorney General, without approval from Cabinet, she alone is the one who determined Zamtel’s destiny. So, whatever happens at Zamtel, Dora Siliya will continue to be held accountable until her death. Whenever the name Dora Siliya will be referred to in future, it shall be in connection with the sale of Zamtel, nothing else.”
Lubinda said Zamtel was a security installation which could not be left in the hands of people at war.
Zambia has frozen assets belonging to the Libyan government and its leaders in compliance with a United Nations resolution, the minister of finance said on Wednesday.
Among the assets was 75 percent of fixed-line phone operator Zamtel, bought last year by Libya’s LAP Green Networks for $257 million.
“My government will ensure compliance in the management of these assets to comply with the UN resolution,” said Situmbeko Musokotwane in a statement.
Musokotwane said Zamtel would continue to operate normally.
“It does not involve any interruption of operations or impediment to the normal operations of Zamtel,” Musokotwane said.
The frozen assets included investments in Zambia, Africa’s biggest copper producer, by listed representatives of the Libyan government and members of the current government, he said.
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has ordered the treasury to freeze assets linked to Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi and his associates, a government official said Friday.
“The process is underway and we are writing letters informing them that no money will be allowed to leave South Africa,” foreign ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela, said without offering further details.
Local daily Business Day said the money is invested through the $5 billion Libya Arab Africa Investment Co (Laaico), through Libya Oil Holdings, Libya African Investment Portfolio and Libyan Foreign Investment Company (Lafico).
In South Africa, it owns Ensemble Hotel holdings, including the luxury Michelangelo Hotel in Johannesburg.
Libya holds billions of dollars in assets in Africa through subsidiaries of its $70 billion sovereign wealth fund.
The South African presidency said on Wednesday that Gaddafi called Zuma “to explain his side of the story.”
The statement said: “South Africa has openly condemned the loss of life and attacks on civilians and reported violations of human rights in Libya.”
Meanwhile,Uganda froze Libyan assets worth $375 million, mainly in the telecommunications, hotel, banking and oil sectors.
To avert fears of job losses in Uganda, International Co-operation minister Henry Okello Oryem says that, despite the freezing of assets, the Libyan-linked businesses would still be able to function.
But he said the money would be channelled into a special account until sanctions were lifted.
Uganda is set to comply with the United Nations resolution regarding the freezing of all funds and assets owned or controlled by president Gadaffi’s regime, states New Vision.
The Libyan assets in Uganda include 69% shareholding in telecommunications firm Uganda Telecom, 49% ownership of National Housing and Construction Corporation, and undisclosed shares in Tamoil, which is expected to work on the oil pipeline from Eldoret, Kenya to Uganda.
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