Friday, March 29, 2024

IDC lends funds to Times of Zambia to clear three months salary arrears

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The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has effected a shareholder’s loan to Times Printpak Zambia, towards payment of the three months’ salary arrears for unionised staff.

By close of business on Thursday, Times Printpak had started the process of uploading salary transfers into staff accounts.

IDC Group Chief Executive Office Mr Mateyo Kaluba, said that all transfers would be made on or by 30th June 2018.

He further thanked staff for remaining calm during the process.

“The plan is it to finish all transfers by or before 30th June 2018. I want to thank the staff at Times Printpak for remaining calm during this period as we continue to look for a long-term solution to sustain the company.

On 15th May 2018, the IDC announced that staff at Times Printpak Zambia would be paid three months’ salary arrears after resources were made available for IDC at the end of June through a shareholder’s loan to Times Printpak.

The resources are meant to alleviate pressure on the arrears.

This is according to a statement issued by IDC Public Relations Manager Namakau Mukelabai.

17 COMMENTS

    • It’s not a sound investment decision. That is why no bank will lend to the T-o-Z. Even Mateyo Kaluba would not do it if it was his own money.

    • T-o-Z is a newspaper that still attracts a lot of advertising, the lifeblood of any newspaper in this damn world. Where does the money from all that advertising go? This is a newspaper which even PF members will not buy. If it cannot pay salaries where no interest accrues, can it repay a loan?

  1. President Lungu should not be chair of IDC for it to operate as a viable entity. Furthermore Mateyo Kaluba a civil servant with no corporate experience should not be leading such a key institution as IDC which is mandated to transform loss making SOEs into profitable ventures. In Singapore and South Africa entities such as IDC have been key in driving industrialization as a result of good corporate governance and recruitment of the best managers to drive performance. Sadly in Zambia everything is of low standard due to patronage people such as Mateyo with no clue of what needs to be done are the ones making decisions and you expect to develop and create jobs. President Lungu’s IDC is heading the INDECO route of UNIP and will cripple economy

  2. Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail are not fit for purpose. They’re a drain on our resources as successive govts keep bailing them out. The days of Government owning newspapers are long gone. Privatise them, I don’t care who buys them as long as that person is Zambian. This will actually enhance our democracy and strengthen media freedom.

  3. Really laughable..IDC borrows from ZCCM to pay Time of Zambia arrears …borrowing from Paul to pay Peter…what a bunch of fooooools

    • Jay Jay: We were told the loan from ZCCM-IH to IDC was at arm’s length and on commercial terms. Because ZCCM-IH has on-lent this money to ToZ, it also has to be at arm’s length and on commercial terms otherwise trouble from minority shareholders of ZCCM-IH. Do you see how the risk has been spread? It makes little sense to have both ZCCM-IH and IDC in existence as it is jublication and a waste of capital. They should have expanded the functions of ZCCM-IH to achieve same outcome. IDC should never have been set up.

    • And these are the people who are going to run a successful airline !!!
      So far their notable actions are
      1. Spend 19m usd to buy a non viable company against their own investment guidelines,
      2. Force non banking institution, ZCCM IH to lend money as shareholder, because their own balance sheet can’t in spite owning several companies
      3. Lending borrowed money to Times for salary support am sure with a fake repayment plan for this money

      There is nothing IDC has done to show confidence that they will even be able to run the airline properly
      Typically African parastatal money wasting and looting vehicle

  4. There’s no other solution except to privatise times. Let’s not waste time and money on an impossible venture that of allowing the state to run a company especially a media company

  5. as we continue to look for a long-term solution to sustain the company.
    There’s no solution. Just sell.
    From 1991 sure!!

  6. This fits into the definition of economic sabotage.

    What a waste of national resources. So what will make Times come into the black all of a sudden?

    Why not just call this a grant so we stop deceiving each other?

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