ENERGY and Water Development Minister Kenneth Konga has said that the decision by BP to sell it shares in BP Zambia will not affect the flow of petroleum products in the country.
Speaking in Parliament when he delivered a ministerial statement on the decision by BP to sell its shares in BP Zambia, Mr Konga said that the Government would ensure that there was a smooth exit of the petroleum firm.
He said this after Kantanshi Member of Parliament Yamfwa Mukanga (PF) asked Mr Konga to assure the nation whether the move by BP would not result in the disruption of flow in petroleum products.
Since BP was an important and critical player in the petroleum sector, Mr Konga said that the Government was monitoring the operations of the firm to ensure that its exit did not affect the flow of petroleum products.
As a result of the realisation that BP was critical player, he said that the Government had engaged management at the petroleum firm in discussions to have an indepth understanding of the reasons behind the pull out.
In the said discussions, he said that BP informed the Government that a number of BP Africa’s portfolio in Africa lacked synergies with BP Africa.
“BP Africa has made a purely business decision to sell its marketing business in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia,” Mr Konga said.
He said that the exit of BP on the Zambian market should be seen as an opportunity by some local investors to invest in the sector.
Mr Konga said that it was the intention of Government to support local investors in the petroleum sector through institutions like the Energy Regulations Board (ERB), Zambia Competition Commission (ZCC) and the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) among others.
[Times of Zambia]
First we need the buyer of BP to expouse the same financial rules such as paying taxes correctly since this is the mainstay of govt revenue. We know of certain oil companies that are operating like brief case businesses. They practise too much transfer pricing and tax avoidance through tax planning to an extent that their revenue for tax purposes is understated. ZRA should wake up and follow up on these briefcase type of oil companies.
Konga is too optimistic that’s why we had that problem of fuel shortages. I hope he knows what he is talking about this time around
Are any local investors buying BP?
#1 Mavimba. Good point. The mines probably practice that deceit. Though it’s difficult to assess a buyer before they buy. Here in the UK we have “fit and proper” billionaires who have run Portsmouth Football Club into administration. Crazy world.