ZAMTEL CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL FIRST 12 MONTHS AMID ITS PRIVATISATION CONTROVERSY

LAP Green Network has claimed a 3,000 per cent growth in the fixed broadband customer base in its Zambia operation, ZAMTEL.

The Libyan multi-national telecommunications group also says the ZAMTEL mobile phone service share market has grown from 3.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent.

This is according to what ZAMTEL has described as a very successful first 12 months after LAP Green bought a 75 per cent stake in the company.

Among other achievements, ZAMTEL claims o have made in its first year of operation under a new brand, are reduced staffing costs from 80 per cent to 23 per cent as well as reduced operational costs from 431 billion kwacha to 190 billion kwacha.

Meanwhile, ZAMTEL has, this year, projected a 19 per cent EIBTDA margin, it says will be a first positive in the last 4 years.

The former parastatal telecommunications firm has recently become centre stage of the new Zambian government’s investigations into alleged corrupt dealings of the previous MMD government.

The investigation has in fact revealed that ZAMTEL was under-valued and sold to the Libyans, liability-free, but at a less than actual price.

Amid LAP Green insisting that the controversial transaction was legal against adduced information that there were glaring irregularities surrounding the respective partial sale of ZAMTEL.

Among those deemed to have personally benefited from the transaction are former Education Minister Dora Siliya, but then in charge of Transport and |Communications, Vice President George Kunda’s legal firm, former President Rupiah Banda’s sons, through whom ZAMTEL assets evaluators and later transaction advisers, R.P Capitals, were procured.