Zambia and Tanzania are in the process of privatising the operations of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA).
Communications Minister, Dora Siliya said the move is aimed at attracting capital to revitalise the Railway company.
Ms. Siliya said the Railway industry is an important player in driving the economies of countries forward.
The Minister said this in a speech read for her by Central Province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Luke Mankapi.
This was at the Inauguration of the two rehabilitated TAZARA locomotives with support from Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) in Kapiri Mposhi.
This is out of the 18 locomotives to be rehabilitated at cost of $10.8 million.
At the same function TAZARA Managing Director, Clement Mwiya said rehabilitation of locomotives is timely as business between Zambia and Tanzania and surrounding countries is on the increase.
KCM Resident Director, Deb Bandhyopadhay called for improved infrastructure in the railway transport sector.
Zambia railways was privitized. What has it achieved? Any privitization of grz utilities should allow grz to have majority shares and not nil shares.
How much shares are you floating for the public?
damm do we even own anything now?!!!!!!
we only own recycled old sick witch doctors and tired men wanting to be presidents!!!!
ZAMBIA IS OWNED BY FOREIGNERS, BUT THEY TAKE ALL THEIR PROFITS ELSEWHERE… WE ARE A FINISHED COUNTRY… DEAD, BURIED, DESTROYED…
Bad bad move. Very bad move. Very very bad move. Extremely bad move indeed.
At this pace our decendants shall be slaves in our own nation. what is the point for having a government …..we can not even run a rail line…injanji..? God deliver us from the so called private enterprise that shall make us slaves in our own nations.
Tazara is join-owned by Zambia and Tanzania.If both nations want to prvatise why not? If they both realise they cannot run the company, why not? Until we have Zeds interested in their country, all will be in foreign hands.There are no zambians interested to buy in their country’s assets.Though we busk in good living in foreign coutries.I do not understand us.
Progressive countries like South Africa have kept the key sectors energy, transport and communication firmly within the control of efficient parastatals. The logic that privitaisation leads to efficiency is misplaced. You cannot leave key areas totally in private hands. Have we learnt anything from the Zambia Railways debacle?
Before one outrightly criticises the govertment’s decision to privatise TAZARA, there should be a level-headed analysis of the decision. We should only resist privatisation if we have a viable alternative. Several previous attempts to restructure and refinance some of our public institutions have not paid dividends. Unfortunaltely, we do not have an impressive record of successful privatisation stories either, presumably because we have hastily privatised our institutions without assessing the motives of our investors and other players on the market. In a globalised economy, you can not afford to protect an economic entity for the sake it.