Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) President Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba says that Zamtel shall be given back to LAPGreen when the MMD forms government next year. Reacting to the recent statement by Transport and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga that the Zambian government would borrow $300 million to recapitalise Zamtel, Dr Mumba lamented that the Patriotic Front (PF) government seems to think nothing of wasting such a colossal amount of money when people are suffering due to lack of medicines in hospitals and clinics and lack of schools in villages.
“I am totally shocked at how much money the PF are wasting. They keep borrowing as if there is no tomorrow. Our total debts, external and local, have gone to over $10 billion and they want to add another $300 million. It seems they have no ideas apart from borrowing everytime. Zamtel is not likely to improve and will need another $300 million later, but Zambians are not stupid. They know that part of that $300 million shall be siphoned off to the PF for election campaigns next year. The PF are so corrupt and they don’t care about the country”, Dr Mumba said.
Dr Mumba pointed out that LAPGreen took over a bankrupt company that was losing millions of Dollars per year and made it profitable within a year. They reduced the labour fource to a third and paid off all rentrenchees, many of whom even built houses with their retrenchment packages. Zamtel’s subscribers trebled and the value of Zamtel doubled within just 18 months.
He said according to Zamtel’s annual Financial reports, the company has never made a profit since it was nationalised in 2012. He further said that it was amazing that the PF government could take a profitable company and destroy it within such a short time. He said it was because the PF appointed incompetent people to run Zamtel and they put their cadres in the company to get paid for basically doing nothing of value.
Dr Mumba said that once MMD forms government in 2016, LAPGreen shall be invited back in the country and be given back Zamtel, provided they drop the currently running court case in which they sued the government of Zambia for $480 million. He said the court case is another huge cost to the country in legal fees that are likely to run into hundreds of thousands of Dollars, if not millions. He said this is in line with the MMD policy of leaving business to the private sector and a recent statement by Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda in Parliament that only 7 out of 42 parastatals are profitable confirmed the wisdom of the MMD position.
He emphasised that MMD shall be a frugal government that will make fiscal discipline a priority and work hard to eliminate waste, embezzlement and corruption in government. He said the huge sums of money saved shall be channeled into provision of effective health and education services, coupled with smart Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to accelerate economic growth.
Dr Mumba said he shall target an economic growth rate of 10% per annum during his first term in office.
Let him go back to church and not cheat people
He learnt cheating in church…thats the best place to learn to cheat ill informed docile masses!!
This is stupid?? what’s wrong with Mumba? why cant we restructure and let it run by itself? these institutions make losses because they over employ and Politicians / government in power always use them for Cadre Employments / theft.
Always thinking Foreign is better. When Libya is worse than Zambia at the moment. let him know what to say because he just killed MMD. he is a fool and Zambians will never go back
Foolish man, he should just shut-up than talk nonsense? why does he think Foreign is better than local? ZAMTEL can not perform because management is not competent, they are all cadres / over employed.
Never go back to MMD they are fools.
You may say what you will about Nevers Mumba and his lack of political strategy, but on ZAMTEL he is dead right.
1. The PF accused MMD of corruptly selling ZAMTEL yet no body has been accused let alone prosecuted over the ZAMTEL sale to LapGreen
2. ZAMTEL was a successful company after privatization and was profitable and growing and the value of the Government share of 25% was increasing.
3. The LapGreen court case will end in huge amounts to Compensate Libya
4. The Cadrerisation of state Companies has bankrupted ZAMTEL requiring Government to recapitalize it at a cost of US$300m when we are load shedding and desperately need the money for energy investment
5. It must be obvious that a terrible mistake was made by SATA and PF possibly because of strident POST newspaper…
@nkole fimo-fimo, lap green is a failed company like a failed itself Libya. If you got problems with pf, then go to the toilet ok.
Ubupuba ba Mumba! Always going back, move forward!
The point is Zambians are stupid that’s why they allow pf to do this
Are you disrespectful Nkombo?
Very very true Dr. Mumba. ZAMTEL is going down. The service is so poor. If land phone lines don’t work in the prime Kabulonga residential area of Lusaka, what is the situation in far flanked areas?
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Politicians
That is if you will ever form government. Nevers should have facts correct. Lap Green paid people as little as K7,500 as a separation package and a leader like nevers is talking of people building houses. What is needed for Zamtel for now is to change management and bring in more viable people.
On this one MMD president is very right.PF canot be proud of borrowing on behalf of a company which is making lose. It is better to put it in the hands of private sector.You don’t need an expert to explain how and why Zamtel has failed to progress. you can’t have people like Chama as chairman all he knows is yapping! Cry Mother Zambia for these MONSTERS!
Hahahahaha- well you ve got to admire the sense of arrogance that Nevers Mumba has. A gullible mind can easily mistake his arrogance for conviction. MMD will never rule Zambia again.
MMD is split into PF-leaning MPs and UPND-leaning MPs. All the people Nevers Mumba has surrounded himself with do not even any positions, not even at Councillor level.
#Lord Voldemont, the issue is not whether Mumba and MMD will return to power. The issue is the policy stance he has taken over ZAMTEL and whether it is the correct one. If it is correct it is incumbent upon who ever is in power to adopt and implement it.
Naimwe aMumba kusamwa kwati inzi pa matuvi.
In as much as I don’t like PF’s failure to run the economy well coupled with it’s violent character, this is the worse statement coming from Nervas Mumba. This is what happens when people are conferred doctorates without earning for them. Nervas I have lost respect of you and I would rather vote for Kabimba than for you if HH was not in sight. But truth is that MMD is dead.
##KK Airport Cabinet,
Is it so important in this country that a Party is only valuable if it wins an election and goes into Government. Getting into government is important but is not every thing. This attitude of getting into power is why we sadly have so many defections after every election. In developed democracies a Party such as Green Parties in Europe exist purely to articulate environmental policies, not necessarily to get into office. Mumba’s argument is of extreme importance and should not be trivialised. There is US$300m of our money likely to be wasted by PF and this is the money he wants to save whether in office or not.
##KK Airport Cabinet,
Is it so important in this country that a Party is only valuable if it wins an election and goes into Government. Getting into government is important but is not every thing. This attitude of getting into power is why we sadly have so many defections after every election. In developed democracies a Party such as Green Parties in Europe exist purely to articulate environmental policies, not necessarily to get into office. Mumba’s argument is of extreme importance and should not be trivialised. There is US$300m of our money likely to be wasted by PF and this is the money he wants to save whether in office or not.
As MMD is not coming back next year can I play back to the future too? Why not put the other guy back at the top too and improve tHIS economy although it might come with a “one dollar for me one dollar for you” leadership. While we are at it we can also re-run every good movie that came out in 2012 and spend more than we are being sued for on campaign underwear and lollipops.
I’m sure LAP Green is finished by now…too many problems at home ..this mindset of Mumba is very retrogressive!!
Ba Mumba, pasto, how can you talk about privatization of ZAMTEL when LAP Green was a failed Libyan state asset?
Please talk about how you will make Zamtel add value to our economy.
@Luapula Premier Im equally plussed like you into thinking ba Pastor Mumber only reads, Tumfweko and he doesnt know Lapgreen is no more! Im sure he doesnt even remember that neither Dora is any more at the Ministry nor is RB at the helm (NO I TAKE THAT BACK SINCE RB IS NOW CALLED EL/RB)! Anyway, prevatisation yes but to Lapgreen NO, NO! Unless bashi Nono agrees!
##KK Airport Cabinet,
Is it so important in this country that a Party is only valuable if it wins an election and goes into Government. Getting into government is important but is not every thing. This attitude of getting into power is why we sadly have so many defections after every election. In developed democracies a Party such as Green Parties in Europe exist purely to articulate environmental policies, not necessarily to get into office. Mumba’s argument is of extreme importance and should not be trivialised. There is US$300m of our money likely to be wasted by PF and this is the money he wants to save whether in office or not.
This poor performance by parastatals is one reason among many that makes winter kabimba’s rainbow party central commandist economic mismanagement agenda not just laughable but frightening. It makes hothead nevers look sober and reasonable.
#Quest. Thank you. Have absolutely taken ever word out of my mouth. We have been on that road before and would be mad to go back there. Worse, even China went that road with Mao and had to come back with Deng Xiao Ping, because there was nothing there. Kabimba must be frothing at the mouth mad!
..what a ‘conmaniac’ way to lure LapGreen to sponsor MMD and Nevers in particular……Lapgreen remember once bitten twice shy….
Futsek !!! Failed Pastor!
Nevers is right on this one except that it may not be Lap Green to come back but any other private investor. But again this shows that RB is not the man in charge of PF as some loud mouths sometimes want to put it. cause if he was that was one thing he would have already worked on as he knows very well that privatization of Zamtel was one of his best decisions despite the cartel condemning it so much at that time. then Sata fell in the cartel trap to re-nationalize it which was a big mistake. all in all Zamtel can not survive as a government controlled entity cause it has a lot of completion from private telecommunications companies. Even Zesco cannot survive if the electricity industry is opened up for private investors.
Nevers, is really deranged. He is completely out of touch with facts.
“Ubutungwa, twalipoka, mucalo cesu icaZambia.
Nomba mune ucenjele kulyaba ba mwisa
Ngawamona umulwaini aisa nolupiya ulwingi
Wikokola umusebe we mwine wa calo
Aa ala mune ukosefye” Keith Mlevu
Interesting character this man. Lap green? What is he thinking when making such a poorly thought out statement? Mr Mumba seek advice from those adequately equipped in those areas. Zamtel has failed because a Zambian disease of institutionalised mismanagement. The same is happening to ZESCO and GRZ. MMD made this disease worse. We need a new movement with well traveled educated Zambians at the helm. Semi literates like you should be barred from office because you’ve done enough damage.
Yonder comes a preacher to give away assets just trying to find a way of getting our mines back
Empty tins make a lot of noise
I agree with never on this one. The question any person with brains needs to ask is, has zamtel improved since renationalization? No!
Comment: Zamtel has failed to make profit since its takeover from LapGreen because the management of Mupanga Mwanakatwe is a failed project. Lets stop being petty, how come LapGreen managed to make a profit within a year and after taking over with local management the company has never made any profit. This company is failing to declare a profit because PF Govt has been siphoning the money. Why do keep a CEO who is failing to make profit every year? This Zamtel and Zesco are strategic companies where govt is siphoning money to buy voters and fund campaigns. The itezi-tezyi hydro and Maamba projects, the money that was allocated to finish these two projects was diverted to January 20 campaigns no wonder these projects cannot be commissioned because there are no funds to complete the…
#Nkole Wa mapembwe Umfwe Milandu, like you I know that a party like the Greens are not there to form govt but to push their own agenda. And yes, they also do help with checks and balances to the ruling party. But the pastor man should just go back to the pulpit. Kabimba too is not forming govt but I would rather cast my vote on him than on the pastor man with wrong thinking of giving Zamtel back to the Libyans and to a dead company. Tell me, is there LapGreen in Libya?
I can assure you, Sekwila Mumba will reverse the transaction in the year 3055 when he rules.
We have to be careful as Zambians. What Nevers Mumba is contemplating shows lack of deep analysis. A country requires a communications company solely owned by the nation. How do you let a foreign country run this? Especially a country like Libya with extreme intrusive laws about communication. What about the country’s intelligence? Is it not compromised? Or does the government have its own systems? I really don’t know who Mumba is trying to impress. Yes, ZAMTEL needs revamping and restructuring and it is high time Zambians became responsible. Having a system of meritocracy when appointing people to top jobs would be half the struggle sorted out!
Forming government next year, what did Nevers Mumba smoke yesterday?
If it is true that’s what minister Mukanga said, my advice is to please think through your utterances, this is what gives ammunition to under fives including Nevers. If Zamtel cannot look after itself just swallow your pride Mr Mukanga and privatize hit again. What value do you think it adds to to the Zambia economy? I mean we can do without Zamtel. Are these not the guys who were borrowing money to give away in silly “marketing” gimmicks?
Both Mumba and Lungu are corrupt, and need to go to jail for a while. The debt they are trying to saddle the Zambian people with is onerous. The same bank and family that created De Beers in 1887, invented the Eurobonds, Privatisation, and controls the World Bank/IMF.
This is who they are serving when they take their bribes. This is why there is corruption.
Nationalisation and turning away from neoliberal economics and this debt is the only way out.