Friday, March 29, 2024

PF happy with Government’s plan NOT to Privatize ZESCO, Indeni and TAZAMA

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ZESCO Muzuma substation being upgraded to KV 330 (from KV 220) in order to be connected to the national grid as soon as the Maamba coal plant station is commissioned
ZESCO Muzuma substation being upgraded to KV 330 (from KV 220) in order to be connected to the national grid as soon as the Maamba coal plant station is commissioned
The ruling Patriotic Front(PF) has expressed delight at the news that government has no intention of privatising the government owned power utility Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO), Indeni Petroleum Refinery Company Limited and TAZAMA Pipelines Limited.

In a statement, PF Publicity and Information Committee Deputy Chairperson Charity Banda said said the news was timely and shows that President Lungu is a listening leader.

Ms Banda however could not resist the temptation to take a dig at their (PF) alliance partner, the MMD, whom she said sold companies which ended up bringing miserly to the Zambian workers.

She said that, although the companies were privatised in a bid to improve their operations and make them profitable, it is an open secret that the companies ended up being worse.

“We are delighted by the news that the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has no intention of privatizing ZESCO, but put in place measures to improve its operations. This news is not only timely, but also speaks volumes about the listening quality of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his government.

“For sure, our people have spoken against calls to sell ZESCO, fearing that it may also end up like many companies that were sold under the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) privatisation programme. We all know that privatisation was characterised by job losses, asset stripping, non payment of workers benefits and other negative happenings that created a lot of suffering among our people. It is an open secret that many companies that were sold in the name of making them efficient and profitable ended up becoming worse leading to close downs,” she said.

She added that government should bear in mind that selling government companies does not always save the interest of Zambians as learnt from the privatisation carried out by the MMD.

“Against this background, we can safely say that Zambia has learnt a lesson which the government should bear in mind when the temptation to sell a government or quasi government company arises.

“As such we wish to commend President Lungu and his team for his wise leadership seen in the decision to improve the operations of ZESCO and not selling it. It is our prayer that stakeholders especially development partners who think selling companies such as ZESCO is a good option will appreciate the intellectual insight which has guided our President and his team in deciding not to sell ZESCO.

“Finally, it is our hope that responsible people will move fast to devise measures and implement initiatives to make our ZESCO efficient and profitable and continue to play a vital role in the development of our country,” she said.

Yesterday, Energy Minister David Mabumba announced that ZESCO, Indeni Petroleum Refinery Company Limited and TAZAMA Pipelines Limited are not for sale but government will only optimize their operation capacity.

39 COMMENTS

  1. I wonder who is in charge of the energy policy in this government. Too many contradictions. Recently the Head of State said we’re not going to venture into new power stations, this week his minister overruled him. Come on, put your acts together.

    • Terrible decisions.

      Privatise these companies if you are to move forward.

      Backwards people Zambians are.

      I hate Zambians individually. As a group Zambians are nice people. Individually I can’t stand them and would never marry or wish to have a lasting relationship of any kind. Why ? Well because I’m
      Yet to find a smart good thinking man compete to Scottish people.

      Thanks

      BB2014

    • Mushota I think your reasoning shows signs of pathological disorder. Gather data before making some statements. I had a secondary classmate who upon completing Grade 12 he went to University in Scotland; I went to study in the land of Fidel Castro Ruz – Cuba. We both had white girl friends as most college students do. Upon graduation this friend insisted in marrying his Scottish girl friend; we tried to dissuade him but to no avail.
      Upon returning to Zambia his white Scottish wife was discovered that she couldn’t cook, spent most of her time consuming Scotch whisky and preferred eating out. When husband was at work she could go and meet other well to do black men in hotels and bars. The pair divorced in Ndola and my colleagues life is now destroyed. I have seen a bigger chunk of very…

    • I have seen a bigger chunk of very irresponsible skin heads. AND NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE LOSING VOTES ON BB2016 AND INCREASING YOUR TALLY ON BIB2016.

    • The wind blows where it wills. So is this PF government. No one can tell where it is going, or where it is coming from.

    • @Mushota, you are very ugly, so don’t worry. No Zambian would want to be with you anyways. You are very dull.

    • mushota is desperate for some attention such that she has stooped so low as to insult her own zambian father. Mushota living in scotland is nothing to be happy about. My friend, it is very cold up there plus am sure you are not very welcome there. I have been there and know what goes on for economic refugees like yourself. To all lusaka times bloggers, here is proof that mushota crookedly won best blogger in 2014. A title she still uses in 2016 kiki. How pathetic are you. Please you are destined to win irritating blogger so start addressing yourself as such. silly hyena

  2. How many times are you going to pump in money into those companies? let people who are qualified to run those companies do their job without government inteference.The same people come up with some decision and then make a u turn and then say that they are happy, what a joke.

  3. Well , another myth perpetrated by shallow thinking Kaponyas as usual. Anyway, it is our job to educate and let me break it down for all you Kaponyas out there

    First Fact: Not all companies in the hands of Government are performing well. And conversely, not all privaitiesed companies performed well either. There are a lot of failed operations in both camps. This is a fact.

    Second, there are companies that were privatised by MMD and are doing well, A number of Hotels, Zambia Sugar, ZANACO, ZAMBEEF, Kafironda Explosives and many more

    Third, ONE comapny recently Nationalised by PF is ZAMTEL. This is the company that should be used as a benchmark. The facts show that ZAMTEL was doing well in Private hands and contributing to the Treasury. Today ZAMTEL is taking away money from the…

    • Today ZAMTEL is taking away money from the treasury and not doing good at all, but making huge loses in a sector where their competitors are making record profits.

      Today ZAMTEL is draining money from your pocket and giving you poor service. That money and even much more money could have been going into the treasury

      Those are facts for you.

      Having said that, I don’t endorse the privitisation of ZESCO, but we just need to advance better reasons than the ones being advanced by PF kaponyas

    • Finally sense! Well to improve or streamline operations they need to bring in people who know about these sectors. We have blotted businesses in terms off staff, high wage bills accounting for over 50% in these entities. There is a reason why some business needs private sector involvement. Zesco, Indeni, Zamtel are all entities that should be generating revenue to sustain its business. Otherwise this bailout they seek from the IMF, and borrowing from external markets will only be used for consumption. This doesnt help our economy in the long run.

  4. This is nonsense. Lungu is playing games. He says one thing today knowing very well that he will reverse the decision tomorrow so that he can look like he is listening.
    This isn’t leadership. It’s lack of knowledge and leadership itself.
    Wake up Lungu show us you are worth that office

  5. PF can not begin to thank itself as news to the nation. It would make sense to let the nation know when and who muted the idea of privatising ZESCO and TAZAMA before telling the nation the so called good news. These privatisation injunctions have their source where PF wants to borrow more money to manage the nation economy. To begin to play to the public gallery and pat oneself on the back is sheer hypocrisy of the highest backward dununa.

    • True, the longer they keep them the more money they siphon. I hear ZAMPOST is responsible for paying the Billboards bearing ECL. Its no wonder the workers go without salaries for two months

  6. Muna, u r spot on. The same PF Government spoke about privatization and now they come back to say their president has listened. What a bunch of jokers. This is really sickening, we need leadership ASAP.

    • @8 Zamani Boza

      You go, not by what they said yesterday, not even by what they dreamed last night, but by what hunch encroaches their psyche after lunch.

  7. They are a bunch of id!ots who will praise anything coming from their leaders. Even if their leaders had insisted on selling these companies, the fo.ols would have praised the idea.

  8. So we will have even more LOAD SHEDDING and the money for Batoka Gorge stolen by these PF thieves!

    Is Lungu trying to compete with Mugabe to see who can destroy their country the most?

    Zesco has FAILED completely and the Nation is only surviving because businesses have bought expensive generators. When Tazama cannot supply the correct fuel for them and they break down, what will happen?

    MEALIE MEAL AT K300 A BAG!

    NO NEW JOBS!

    KWACHA BECOMES WORTHLESS LIKE THE ZIMBABWE DOLLAR!

    Is this what Zambians want?

    • How come money gets stolen from the government all the time. Who is responsible for internal controls and what do auditors do? This is unacceptable.

  9. who is PF or who is Government who is happy with the Plan? Where is People in this Sentence? PF is Government, they have been telling us that PF is forming the Government, so to me Pf is Government and PF is the Government. So LT?????

    • The purpose of political parties is to get presidents of different political persuasions elected at different times. It’s not the duty of the party to govern but for the elected officials. Party stalwarts, therefore, should keep quiet after elections and let the people’s representatives play their role.

  10. kkkkkk buh the pf government che!!!\
    what have u achieved ayi??? this extent clearly shows that u had no any other option buh to sell, now that u have been criticised, u say we are happy that govt!!!
    #government si Lungu waa nyoko?

  11. What Ms Charity Banda is expressing is her fear that her relatiions and party cadres who make up the very excess staff and are overpaid for adding no value to the company may be thrown onto the streets. There is no national interest in what she says. Ati to devise ways to.make “our company” profitable and efficient, with such a grossly overpaid and bloated and unproductive staff in the majority thousands? Laughable and then you bring the name of the Head of state onto such logic? Why doesnt she just talk about her relations?

  12. Nothing to smile home about. I live in Kabangwe. Power went last night, the whole night without power, tonight again it has just gone.I am seeing another night without power plus the load shedding we had in the day, awe it’s hectic.

  13. Happy, I am also in the same area. This chi thing called Zesco must be sold and to serious people. I don’t have power even tonight as if it’s free but I am paying, this is the most disorganised institution in Zambia. And with all these inefficiencies, there is a management at Zesco in place. Probably even a board

  14. Just as Muna (ref7.0) has noted, PF can not begin to thank itself for its poor judgement in the 1st place. They started by entrenching this idea in the manifesto unveiled just b4 elections. It was really strange. Sadly the same PF cheered the leadership madness of ECL then. They again cheer the news not to go ahead. PF has taken advantage of Zambians docility. But this cannot be allowed to continue. Nothing makes sense to pf unless it comes from a pf official when in fact sober minds advised against the bad idea. Hypocrites.

  15. Congratulations TERRIBLE you have finally completed a blog without refering to HH. You are showing you have potential to be BB2017
    Good work

  16. The govt now must have consistent polices..otherwise we shall see little development after five years….they have a clear five year term..they must not mess it up like they have already done…economy wise.

  17. Privatisation is where hh stole public resources, undervalued companies and put the money in his pockets, Just ask him to explain how he made him money!

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