Government says it has no plans of privatizing the Zambia Postal Services (ZamPost) because it is running profitably.
Transport and Communication and Transport Deputy minister Mubika Mubika said government is however planning to commercialize the institution to make it more effective.
Mr. Mubika said this in parliament today, in response to Chilupi Member of Parliament (MP) Davis Mwila question who wanted to know whether government will privatize ZamPost.
He said privatizing of the company might result into difficulties in communication for people in the rural areas who depend on the company for their communication need.
He said government is recognizes the importance of postal service to the people especially in rural areas adding that privatizing it might result in them being disadvantaged as private firms might not be interested in going to rural areas.
The minister said government will however try to construct new post offices in areas that do not have.
Meanwhile the Minister has told parliament that government gave the institution over K1 billion in aid grant from 2006 to 2008.
And Mr. Mubika has further told parliament that government will appoint the board members for the institution once it receives the nominations.
ZANIS
“He said privatizing of the company might result into difficulties in communication for people in the rural areas who depend on the company for their communication need”. I thought the opposite was the case. The other one which is sold is more important than this one. Setting priorities right indeed!
Running profitably translates into ‘ we have not mismanaged it’ . Zamtel was making profits the only difference is those profits were mismanaged by the same government.
With Westerunion and mobile phones about, the last form of communication people need is the service provided by Zampost. I can not honestly remember the last time I sent a letter. Instead of promoting digi-tech, we are busy talking about saving Zampost
Good move. At least some sectors in our economy are running well. Nambala one Magicroundabout don’t worry, companies differ in their ability to counter the crisis. It appears to me that Zamtel was not effectively armed.
This one is not prifitable that`s why chocho men are not bothered. It would have gone by now.
Privatise ZNBC….
Hi #6 Splaka…privatise me!
privatise state house.too many deals coming from there.
i say you must privitaise the zam post.that doesnt exist.
Maybe govt should have swapped management, that of Zampost should have gone to Zamtel since they seem to be doing fine desoite running a near end industry as opposed to those running a company of the future
In the near future, ZAMPOST will be irrelevant. With the rise in internet cafe’s and mobile phones, people will prefer to use email and SMS instead of snail mail from ZAMPOST. ZAMPOST must consider digitizing its services if it is to remain profitable. At least a partial privatization would work for the company. Sell 49% shares to an equity partner or float the shares on the LUSE.
At this rate, ZAMPOST might become another ZAMTEL whilst people will be flocking to internet cafe’s to communicate.
Good i need to continue sending my grandmother those telegrams
Very soon we are going to hear Zambia privatizing public toilets because ba council have failed to maintain them and provide good service to the public.
#11 Mr Capitalist I beg to differ with you. I can see your flag looks like you are in the US, one of the advanced countries with a lot of computers, cell phones for communication. But have they ceased to use postage facilities? I do not know the premise upon which you concluded that Zampost will be irrelevant but I can assure you that it could be that just like you, people running it do not have an idea of how to maximise profits so they could end up folding.
Government in crisis, By the way, has RB got a dual citizenship (Zimbabwean/Zambia)? Can someone advise?? And if yes, what is not happening? because what is happening is that GRZ is strict with Zambians getting dual citizenship,
waste of breath commenting on issues that dont inspire at all. am better of watching wet paint dry.
#14 Dongo na Sundu, Actually the US Postal Service has lost atleast $2.4b in the last quarter and as a conseqeunce will be closing down alot of their stations. There is talk of doing away with the US Postal Service completely because of the diversity in mail delivery at the moment.
SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma’s spokesperson and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said they have no confirmation of an appointment for President Rupiah Banda to hold bilateral talks with President Zuma.
In a telephone interview from Pretoria in South Africa, President Zuma’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said he did not know anything about bilateral talks between presidents Zuma (left) and Banda.
When asked about the meeting between presidents Banda and Zuma and what would be the key issues during their bilateral meeting, Magwenya asked: “When is that?
When informed that President Banda had already left Zambia for South Africa to have a meeting with President Zuma, Magwenya responded: “When?…I will have to come back to you on that chief. I haven’t…
I haven’t received any confirmation on that one.”
And South Africa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs department of international relations and cooperation spokesperson Nomfanelo Kota said her desk did not have any information about President Banda’s trip to South Africa for a meeting with President Zuma.
“I haven’t been informed by the desk which deals with Zambia. So I don’t know. As soon as we get informed normally we send out a media advisory. We usually do this a week or two weeks in advance,” said Kota. “On my desk there is nothing that says Zambia. It might be coming.”
Meanwhile, Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa Leslie Mbula could not give a definite programme of President Banda while in South Africa and when his programme would end.
Asked when…
Asked when President Banda was expected to meet President Zuma, High Commissioner Mbula asked, “Where is the President right now?”
When told that President Banda had just left Zambia for South Africa, High Commissioner Mbula asked: “He has taken off?”
Asked about President Banda’s programme while in South Africa, High Commissioner Mbula responded: “I think that I am not very sure yet. Maybe after he has come when I have seen the programme, maybe you can phone. Then we can discuss.”
President Banda yesterday left for South Africa where he “will hold bilateral talks” with President Zuma.
A statement issued by his special assistant for press and public relations Dickson Jere stated: “The two Heads of State will hold bilateral talks in Pretoria and thereafter…
“The two Heads of State will hold bilateral talks in Pretoria and thereafter President Banda will also do his medical check-up and review. The President and his delegation will return to Zambia immediately after completing the scheduled business.”
But according to President Zuma’s diary on his presidential website, there is no appointment for a meeting with President Banda.
President Zuma’s diary is blank today and tomorrow but on Friday he would meet school principals from across South Africa in Durban and on Sunday he would deliver a keynote address at the National Women’s Day Celebrations in KwaZulu Natal Province.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is next week expected to visit South Africa and hold bilateral talks with President Zuma
#20 New Zambia, lets wait for the purported visit then we shall comment!
Maybe govt should have swapped management, that of Zampost should have gone to Zamtel since they seem to be doing fine desoite .solve ecvery problem nce and for all.zam keep country up not down.
if i were the government,now am not i would privatize ZNBC cause its useless to country.
The statement is self contradictory. How can one say the company is profitable and also state that government gave the company ZMK 1 Billion aid grant between 2006 and 2008? The last time I checked, ZANACO was very profitable and also one of the few banks that offered extensive coverage to rural areas and yet the same government sold it. It would be better if he told us the truth: which is that ZAMPOST is not that attractive to any potential buyers!
All this is hallabaloo!!! ow do you sell a loss making company to anyone? Folks does it make sense? Then you expect that someone who has bought a loss making company to continue making losses? And why are bidders going to scramble for a loss making company? Unless they know that there’s gold in it which is true. That means that if there is gold in it, there is just something small that needs to be done to access the gold. Either streamline management or recapitalize the company or do both at the same time. With the fibre optic cable in place, how does a communication company fail to make profits? Something is amiss.
Atleast ZAMPOST has shown seriousness in the way it operates and probably is well managed. When it was separated I thought it was the one that was going to fold quickly than ZAMTEL, but this has not been the case and it has managed to pull through. People ZAMPOST is not all about sending telegrams and letters, the management there should be commended for the work done in innovation, transforming it from letters to transport, money transfer, parcels e.t.c business.
Ok lets swap managements between ZAMPOST and ZAMTEL or even ZESCO
MMD has collapsed ZESCO & ZAMTEL through funding of their party activities,now it has gone as far as MOH
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has said the Zamtel management, workers and their union wanted the company privatised quickly because of its liquidity position.
And a Serenje chief who was among the seven that attended President Banda’s rally at Gibson Basic School said the chiefs were given K1 million each during their meeting with President Banda.
Meanwhile, some teachers in Serenje who met President Banda at Mukando Basic School along Tuta Road had their letter of demands confiscated by the office of the District Education Board Secretary.
Addressing a rally to drum up support for MMD candidate Dr Solomon Musonda on Monday, President Banda said when he went to Ndola recently, he had been asked by Zamtel management to find an equity partner who could inject money in the company because…
he had been asked by Zamtel management to find an equity partner who could inject money in the company because it owed a lot of money.
President Banda said he told them that it would take about six months to find a person or organisation to be a partner but management said they wanted one as quickly as possible.
“We know that when you bring in such a partner, some of our workers will lose their jobs,” President Banda said.
He said Zamtel owed creditors a lot of money and a solution had to be found and that foreign investment was needed just like in the mines. He said it was wrong for the opposition and a certain newspaper, which specialises in lies, to claim that only children attended his rallies.
President Banda said such people were jealous that the children went with…
President Banda said such people were jealous that the children went with their parents to his meetings because they were peaceful. He asked Zambians to be objective and not quit speaking the truth.
And a chief who attended the closed door meeting with President Banda and other chiefs, said they were given K1 million in envelopes. The chief said they had expected more but were disappointed with the amount they received.
The chief said they had been forced to attend the rally by another named chief.
“We thought the envelopes had more money but when we opened, there was only K1,000,000,” he said.
And some teachers complained that their letter of demands to President Banda had Mukando Basic School had been confiscated before they met him.
The teachers said an official from…
27 Musana wa ndalama i agree with you.Atleast you know whats bn happening with Zampost unlike some ignorant bloggers who think Zampost is all about mail services. Zampost diversified long time ago and currently offers a wide range of products. Cheers man!
Fellow bloggers, why don’t we push for the release of the Zamtel evaluation report. Unless there is some dirty being swept under the kept we should have this report for public consumption! Refer to a letter from the an ananymous employee in the post. It makes a lot sense. Don’t shit in the well after drinking from it! You might just get thirsty too soon!
Is my comment still awaiting moderation? Ok fine whatever? Has RB gone for treatment or to look for school places for the children?
#17 Dalitso,
I do not agree with you about the doing away with postal services in the US. What could have caused that? They may downsize the organisation but not doing away with it. In Zampost’s case, they have not even expanded to an extent that we could say they are inefficient, it is just that they do not have new ventures from which the could get a bit of money. Musana Wandalama has said Zampost is not just about letters & telegrams, and I think if Zampost did just a bit even in insurance business, vehicle fitness certification & road license for a commission from RTSA that would add a bit more to their coffers.
Zamtel privitisation will be reversed. If those that will win elections in 2012 don’t reverse, we will do so in 2017 when our current leadership will be too old to aspire for leadership. So potential buyer of Zamtel must take this as official notice. We can not risk to have 75% of the air waves in private hands, this is too sensitive an area. We do not believe that privitisation should compromise national security. We are slowly and patiently preparing for 2017, if the Lord’s return tarries.
With intentions, the previous privatisation stories always started with such a headline “The government will not” just wait for some weeks after the by-elction in serenje,the same people will change the story by announcing the new owners of ZAMTEL. ABENA ZED we are more like a chicken being undressed alive,too much noise and too forgetive.
8-|Now the pact has collapsed what next, sata should learn to listen he will never rule zambia, now what happens to bishop mpundu who supported adultary which sata comitted with his sister the bishop lost his integrity and wisdom just to make satan popular, shame bishop.
You should really moderate the comments here, a lot of trash…