Minister says Zamtel should be privatized

Zambia’s Minister of Communications and Transport has said that the Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel), the country’s sole telecoms parastatal, should be privatized in order to be profitable.

Minister Dora Siliya said that Zamtell was not profitable, and that the situation should change if the company was privatized. The company’s debt book currently shows that around US$300 is owed in arrear payments, but that collection of these debts have not been made.

Siliya says of the arrears: “As of December 2008, Zamtel debt stood at K749 billion and the debt continues to increase,”

Some members of Zambia’s parliament are opposed to the privatization of Zamtel, arguing that the move could have serious security repercussions for the state.