THE retrenchment of the more than 2,400 Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel) employees has started and some employees have started receiving their redundancy packages.
Zamtel, which is now managed by LapGreen Network of Libya, has appointed Hans Paulsen as the new managing director and a new management team in which Mr Paulsen’s predecessor, Mukela Muyunda is the interim chief of operations.
According to an internal memorandum seen yesterday by the Times from Mr Paulsen to the employees, the implementation of the new organisational structure had started.
“The new company structure guarantees full realisation of goals and objectives under a five-year business plan.
“A detailed programme of all activities that will be communicated in the next 100 days will be finalised in the coming few days,” he said.
The retrenchment of the employees which started on August 16 was expected to be concluded by August 31.
A skeleton staff would remain in office for three months after which new and re-engaged employees would start work.
Some workers who received their letters of termination of service last week said they were given their retrenchment packages within 48 hours.
The packages include three months basic salary for each year served, two months salary for repatriation and a month’s basic salary in lieu of notice.
Mr Paulsen said consultation was being done with relevant stakeholders, including external experts, to ensure the best results were achieved.
The former managing director, Mr Muyunda has been appointed to head a five-member team of senior Zambian managers to head the Zamtel transitional process.
On July 5, 2010, LapGreen Network officially took over 75 per cent shares in Zamtel after successfully concluding a US$257 million equity purchase deal with the Zambia Development Agency.
The new company is expected to pump in an additional $75 million in existing vendor financing and a further $62 million to cover network expansion.
National Union of Communication Workers general secretary, Clement Kasonde said in an interview in Ndola that the union leadership was confident that the payment of redundancy packages and the management of the period in which the company would change hands would be smooth.
[Times of Zambia]
What about the Zambia Airways workers , when will they get money too its been too long a wait .
awe chawama mwabapela ichipao but on a real serious note, this company carried a lot of casual workers in the guise of job on training and such were not qualified for terminal benefits so i bet even the 2400 number will comprise very few people with pensionable benefits. twebeniko ama figure from the least paid retrenchee. i hate this word
31 kabudula bamba your name makes me laugh ulasekesha, however I suggest zambian airways workers under chief executive mutembo be paid too. zamtel is a huge success in as far as privatisation is conerned. former workers are laughing all the way to the bank hope the invest in property and not thighs
# 3,thumbs up.Noti uku shanina nama hule ka ngwee aka guys.
It good enough to get that package, but long term the Zedian workers will have no jobs! Most of the Zamtel technical jobs will be done remotely either in Uganda or Libya. Lap Green is in Zambia to increase its customer base and make money – hence low labour costs. Only in Zambia where people can rejoice after unemployment increases. Those monies will not last.
The way Zamtel was sold could have been flawed but the end result could be something better…lets give it a try and wait and see. To be honest, the parastatal was bloated and inefficient, but still those whose pockets were lined in the selling process, will be pursued to the gates of hell!
In # 3,Ba LT why the censoring?**** is H.U.L.E which is prostitute in english.we should not use our languages sure.Is H.U.L.E an insult?
2500! The results of privatisation for sure. After 2-3yrs these guys will be crying for money saying they were not paid fairly. I have to agree with #5 with the high cost of living pa zed these monies wont take them far. i feel for them.
In # 4,Ba LT why the censoring?**** is H.U.L.E which is prostitute in english.we should not use our languages sure.Is H.U.L.E an insult?
The amount given to them sounds good, but the question is, how are they going to utilise this money?
because ba some of them, within two months, will see them in shanty componds renting a cabin. we need elders to pump some sense into some brains.
Yes well the begining of the this privatisation had mistakes but i feel it was well handles. ZAMTEL was on its deathbed and some thing had to be done. I feel the loss of jobs was inevitable, why have three people do two people job. ZAMTEL now LAP green needed this and us consumers also stand to benefit
#11, are you still a juniour student or at high school, you need to learn more grammar.
Please ba Retrenched Zamtel workers, iam single and got nice bootlicious….. Hola at me [email protected].. only if ur a zamtel Retrenchee, i wanna give, i wanna give give you some Lov…:x
Everyone knew Zamtel had over-employed and highly politicised just like any typical parastatal, so the only way forward was to retrench. #5, this was inevitable. What is important now is that 1) retrenchees get their fair share plus training and advice on opportunities that are available for investments, 2) the remaining workers are re-trained to suit their new job descriptions and responsibilities, 3) new conditions of service fairly reflect the new responsibilities and the expected increase in the work-load, 4) there is visible and perceived improvement in the quality of service that the new set-up offers to its customers and 5) Govt gets its fair share of dividends and taxes from the profits that the new company will generate (assuming main aim was to make it profitable)
LapGreen should have organised wokshops to educate workers on how they can use this money. we have organisations in zambia which deal with issues of retrenchees and this was going to help them.But LapgGreen seems not to care, all they want is money, they are not concerned about to poor worker they have thrown in cairo road. uluseeee.
#15 they did carry out some worshops. I saw pipo from ZDA on TV providing this service. Check your facts Pa Zed pesu
#16 thank you. If they did that, well done. I am currently not in zambia so i am behind on certain issues. Thank you once more.
they did carry out workshops and ZDA SME unit is helping those that want to do business
Without job, the recovery is an impostor…a phony…a fraud. Without jobs, people have no extra spending power.
No new jobs = no new income. No new income = no new sales. No new sales = no new profit = no new jobs.
#3 Understand the difference between Zambia Airways and Zambian Airways. #1 is asking about Zambia Airways and not Zambian Airways. Zambia Airways was fully owned by GRZ while Zambian Airways is owned by Mutembo Nchito. Zambia Aiways was destroyed by Kafupi Chiluba and Zambian Airways has been blocked by hallucination of Rupiah Mubwezeni Kumunzi Banda.
WELL DONE WINDU MATOKA , YOU HAVE GIVEN REAL ADVICE TO ZAMTEL WORKERS AS ENTERPRISE ADVISER. TO ZAMTEL RETRENCHEE IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO INVEST YOU MONEY, PLEASE DIVIDE YOUR PACKAGE BY YOUR PREVIOUS MONTHLY SALARY AND THE ANSWER IS HOW MANY MONTH YOUR PACKAGE WILL LAST.SO PLEASE INVEST YOUR MONEY IN REAL ESTATE OR IN FARMING.IF YOU TAKE TO SHINING I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WITHIN A YEAR YOU WILL BE A STREET ADULT.
THESE ARE EFFECTS OF PRIVATASATION,THE POOR ZAMBIAN WORKERS WERE NOT PREPARED AND ACQUIRED LOANS,MEANING THEY WILL GO WITH VERY LITTLE AND WE SHOULD EXPECT MORE PEOPLE TO DIE BECAUSE THEY NEVER PREPARED FOR IT.
RB HAS MADE A MISTAKE BY FOLLOWING CHILUBA’S PLANS.REMEMBER THE MINERS HAVE SUFFERED IN THE SAME WAY.
PLIZ LET US LEARN FROM THE PAST, PLIZ NO MORE PRIVATASATION.
#20 Can you please explain how the demise of Zambian Airways is RB’s fault and not the fault of the guys who were actually running the company and accruing dodgy debts?
Privatization of ZAMTEL has been a success story by every logical argument. I can only wish our hardworking and resilient people well. Appreciate an entrepreneurship spirit now. The culture of looking forward to a job will not take us anywhere as a country. This is an ownership generation of men and women that apply themselves and are ambitious, tenacious and strategic in establishing their own businesses. Its time to create new businesses in the face of risk and uncertainty for the purpose of achieving profit and growth by identifying opportunities and assembling the necessary resources at hand to capitalize on them.
#13, am one of the retrenchees. I worked for 25 years in ZAMTEL and my basic salary is R10m per month. So am getting K10mx3x25=R750 million.Twanwa again
#8 Ghost rider.. that’s my fear too.. With the high ever increasing Cost of Survival in Zambia that money will hardly last 6 months after the banks and Zmatel have deducted employee inkongole / loans.. I mean someone earning K6m gross per month who worked for 10 years with a family of 6 would get: (K6m x 3mths x 10 yrs ) + repatriation (K6m x 2 mths) + K6m 1 mth lieu of notice pyt = K198 million Gross less Tax (@ 15% on amounts over K20m on redundancy)=K27m. Cash in Bank before loans = K171million ($34,000). hhhhmmm. very tricky. not much one can do with that. can’t buy u even a 2 bedroomed house in Zambia. Dicey after school fees, housing, transport, medical bills all millions. tricky. And to think that K6mwas Junior Mgt salary grade? what about lower staff? tricky.
#20 REAL NIGAR YES ZAMBIA AIRWAYS AND ZAMBIAN AIRWAYS ARE 2 DIFERENT AIRLINES BUT BOTH DEFUNCT. rb DIDNT PLAY ANY ROLE IN NCHITOMEMBE AIRLINE GOING UNDER. THESE TWO USED THE AIRLINE TO BORO MONEY THRU MAGANDE FROM DBZ, ZSIC, INVEST TRUST THEY ALSO STOLE MONEY MEANT FOR NACL. TO BRING IN RB IN WHAT IS CLEARLY A CASE OF THEFT ON THE PART OF AIRLINE DIRECTORS IS IDIOCY
I implore all patriotic and skilled selfless folks on the ground to avail yourselves and usher our brothers and sister to an entrepreneurship mode. More than money these hard working men and women need every piece of expert knowledge you can render.
I implore our people not to fear stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. Catch up the following characteristics:
-Desire for responsibility
-Preference for moderate risk
-Confidence in your ability to succeed
-Desire for immediate feedback
-Value achievement over money
-Get skilled at organizing yourselves.
Be what you want to be in life by applying yourselves for benefits of your own business. You have the opportunity to:
-Create your own identity
-Make a difference
-Reach your full potential
-Reap impressive profits
-Contribute to society and to be recognized for your efforts
-Do what you enjoy and to have fun at it.
Seperate yourselves from a dependance syndrome.
That a net job loss worth worrying about. Success my behind!!!!!!
#26 Digga Thanks for providing some real picture. Some bloggers where even advising to invest in real property. They dont how much these poor people will get.
People take a deep breath! We cannot say the end justifies the means then we shall conclude that there is nothing wrong in f.u.c.k.i.n.g a whore as long as you dont aqcuire HIV. Now, some of these people have never held such uge sums of money & coming without expectations, not everyone will do the right thing within a short time frame. Some will shagg girls & contract HIV, others will spend it ku botique na ba excited wife & yet others, a small %ntage may do the right thing. For those that are already in business, its a welcome idea. Even in europe, people prefer staying on the job than get retrenched. The global arena is a complicated one & one needs to be connected in order to ride high & that takes long time of experiments,failures,disappointments & even death.
In as much as some are recommending LapG for the renemerations & retrencments, the firm does not care how the zambian lives. They are here to reap profits. If it takes them to chuck out as much people as they can to suck us of the much needed reservours of of one of our prestigious stated-owned firms they will do that stopping at nothing.All this is being done in their own interests. Whether it makes profits now, that has nothing to do with any benefit to zambia. I assure any one here that all your monies you will be spending as a subscriber goes back to Libya. Take a look at KCM. The indians are reaping off both cobalt & copper & leaving trenchies on our backyards. When sunami will visit us, they will be in MALIBU enjoying while we will be wallowing in the waters like in pakistan. PEACE.
#14 & SC. We dont need to celebrate this massive job loses. We also need to think right as zambians in that in as much as ZAMTEL labor force was blotted, privatising wasn’t the solution-it was the 4th option & RB rushed to it. U can be a dull Zamtel manager if i asked u ‘what is solution to your over-employment’ & u answered me ‘sell us’. ZAMTEL could have been run by Zambia (Not the current libyan government) by making it a leaner business entity declaring profit to GRZ, bearing in mind it deals in IT & Telecoms, a sector which makes more money in mordern world, making the richest companies & individual (carlos slim, gates, etc). Why force all retrenced workers to go into business when they have not thought about it & wheren’t there in the 1st place. A few may make it- fbut most of…
To #30 Senior Citizen and Morons. To interpret your nonsense
-Create your own identity MEANS, become a brainless and blind cadre
-Make a difference MEANS, do nothing even when the country is heading for doom.
-Reach your full potential MEANS, become a Zambian Zombie like George Kaunda and Judges
-Reap impressive profits MEANS, only from Foreign Investor’s leftovers
-Contribute to society and to be recognized for your efforts MEANS, by beating other cadres
-Do what you enjoy and to have fun at it. MEANS, The Utu giligili Economy is everything
Separate yourselves from a dependence syndrome MEANS, don’t even depend on your Brains,Hands, Zamtel, Mines, Professionals etc
you moron!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dont take us for a ride
Jobs Jobs Jobs , as long as you are qualified and you and want to compete especially with Airtel(Zain) and MTN join Lapgreen….Hope they be paying well. Ma engineers job ya onelkela…the only risk is whether they will manage to penetrate the Market…Its risky to join them but i guess they are here to stay.
The total number of staff in the 5 operations currently stands at 2,452 :
– Uganda telecom: 612 (excludes 173 call outsourced center staff)
– Rwandatel: 369
– Sonitel: 1,071
– Sahelcom: 88
– Green N CI (Oricel): 312
Diversity and equal opportunity :
– A total of 16 nationalities are represented across the group.
– 76% of staff are men and 24% women
Qualification profile of the key staff is indicated below :
QUALIFICATIONS
TOTALS
Engineers
544
Diploma Holders
512
Degree Holders
275
Masters Degree & above
82
Ordinary Worker
1,039
Wake up Zambians! I can run any company of any magnitude & believe that many other Zambians can. Sorry friends, i can’t give this ZAMTEL sale a chance, coz I know deep down my heart that Zambia will never be a beneficially, but the libian gvt. my heart always bleeds to know how Zambians have been brain washed to think only a person who isn’t zambian can run companies. Even educated people have been dragged into mediocrity. The only way to help out these zamtel workers was to pool up resources and let workers thrive in a new zambian formed company of telecom. I am pragmatic & say the MMD’s policy of empowering foreigners is devlish & should be comdemned by all objective citizens. it would still be devlish if done PF, UPND,…
I long to see independent minded bloggers & thinkers not these so called Senior citizens or bootlicker. The MMD syndrome destroys ur independent thought coz its full of cadres, not people. In other govts around the world MP & party members critisize & advise their govts. Not Mulongoti or SC type! THey can’t see anything wrong in ZAMTEL being under libya. COLDECO, worlds’ biggest copper producing company is govt (chile). Saudi ARAMCO, world’s largest crude oil producing co. is largely govt owned. Even ANC can run MTN as a business unit- why has MMD blinded u to the extent of parking your brains? Why does RB convince u ZAMTEL is unhealthy when GVt has been making free calls. They had/have biggest debt in ZAMTEL, ZESCO, water utilities. instead of paying they will privatise all of them
There is nothing MMD could have done to solve Zamtel problems. Its better with LapGreen as they will invest of bit more bugs in the company and create some job opportunites for young ones. And who knows the BIG Bwanas in GRZ will perhaps start paying their bills on time. There was no national mourning the day ZCCM was killed and today those chaps at KCM can even afford to cheat that there no qualified staff to do certain jobs. Do we really need a coy spokes person in the name of an expertraite.Intially KCM poached the best guys in Zambia as a window dressing gimik soon they had their feet on ground they frustrated all qualified zambians by either assigning them wrong jobs an d end result these men and women resigned only to be replaced with green Indians without experience. What a joke?
Uko……….LapGreen or is it RP OR Lap Yellow…..
The opposition is really working. These guys could not have done the best they can if it was not for the opposite forces. We shall keep on attacking and results will show. Maybe this is a plus for the opposition. Shibukeni bangwele!
Please give me my credit . . . .even chi sata is so low!
#35 TC Progressor, good point you have raised HOWEVER not as simple as you have put it. The best model of business, or at least as far as citizens of any country are concerned, is where a Govt through its brilliant citizens is running a lean and efficient business with all profits and jobs are benefiting the locals. Last time I checked that was only happening in Utopia. Transforming Zamtel into what you have said needed money, and more money. You say Zamtel could have been made a “leaner” business yet you start by mourning the job losses, thats confusing. I don’t know what you mean by leaner but my guess is that you mean an efficient workforce matching the demands of company….I don’t see how this will happen unless through retrenchment or perhaps through a pandemic that wipes out…
#contd.. more than half of the workforce. Even then, terminal benefits have to be paid. Fact is money is needed to do any sort of re-structuring the amount involved to restructure an company the size of Zamtel can not come from tax payers like you and me, via GRZ coffers, impossible!! You have to be a dull citizen not to know that restructuring a parastatal using govt funds in order to save 2,000 jobs should not even appear on a govt’s expenditure list that includes building schools, clinics, roads, providing medicine, education facilities, paying teachers, soldiers, nurses etc..So, there is only one option of effecting the restructuring in Zamtel. Bring the money from outside and secure as best a deal for the workers and facilities as possible, for the benefit of the general Zambians.
#45 Uwakwisano (not from the royal palace of course). I agree with some points you raised, but not as complex as u want them sound. U need money to restructure Zamtel. The simple reason why the company couldn’t generate funds (agreed with me & knowing fully well it was in a thriving business) was coz of gvt. Govt borrowing & political interference of not allowing it to run as business and strategise into profitable units killed it. Coz of sentivitity zamtel couldn’t be allowed to fully commecialize, coz it should be asked to serve a rural facility at no fee. Mark my words- if govt allowed non politcal figures (it happened in zesco few months when a non-political Dr Nyirenda resigned) to run Zamtel & returned 70% they borrowed, Zamtel wud ‘ve started running & restructuring over time
#26, good analysis,thats the way we should analyse national issues, not like this loud mouthed MMD *****s who doesn’t have a single idea of how the world revolves. All the same, Zamtel did not deserve to be sold. Zamtel is the pioneer of the cellphone system in Zambia and should have been dominating the market. If say for example each of that 2400 was earning K2.4m and the salary budget comprised 25% of the total operating costs, and assuming each customer spends a minimum of K50,000 per month, you will only need 461000 customers just on the cell phone business to break even beside other services that the company offers. The only reason they sold is because the mentality of nyemo quickly instead of serving the people you MMd wankers.
Zamtel ..anywa am stil worried coz ma galfriend works there and cud b a victim…any1 wit planz on how i can spend the moni…!!!
#48 Jack Jones… Unfortunately things at zamtel were not as simple as you portray them. You needed to pass (work) through there to “appreciate” the work culture. The mentality of some managers was warped. When I resigned the area manager instructed his techs to cease and recover (zamtel language for completely withdrawing service including cables from the client). I was buffled to the extent that I vowed never to do business with them. I have since reneged on my vow because of patriotism. To me all zamtel needed was to remove rebates from me so that I continue giving them revenue. Zamtel was bloated and last time I checked they only had 100000 landlines against 2000+ workers. Line techs cleared more faults on saturday than Mon to Frid combined, all for overtime!
They will be hiring body guards,marrying more wives, buying more expensive cars, booze and renting more expensive flats as they expire……
#50 MK
If that isn’t enough,there was too much nepotism.Zamtel College was closed system churning out half-baked techs who happen to be children and relatives of the top,middle and lower mgt.Recruitment and promotion was never based on competence and demonstrated ability.This was the only way out.
#52 & #50, great information….people here want to pretend they know what they are talking about yet they have not even an iota of what it takes to restructure a bloated and disfunctional organisation like Zamtel. Everybody know the gross indispline that characterised all departments and the sheer lack of professionalism that defined a typical Zamtel employee. Ask any one who worked there and they will tell you, the company was going no where! This will bring in the needed cash for investment but perhaps more importantly, it will bring the much needed overhaul of personnel in terms of numbers and attitude.
#22 VERY RIGHT. THE SALE WAS UNFORSEEN AND THESE RETRENCHEES ARE HIGHLY INDEBTED WITH SOME HAVING LOANS FROM AS MANY AS THREE BANKS.
#26 THE CALCULATIONS ARE NOT BASED ON GROSS SALARY, IT IS BASIC AND THESE EMPLYEES HAVE GONE FOR 5 YEARS WITHOUT PAY RISE
AS I SPEAK I HAVE INFORMATION SAYING SOME OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE GONE WITHOUT ANYTHING WHILE OTHERS WILL STILL REMAIN INDEBTED TO THE BANKS.
# 1., Uletotokanya. I do not understand how the Zambia airways employees come into to this. Zambia airways was ,liquidated it was in the red all the time . Zamtel was sold for a profit so its has surplus to pay its pipo. !!
Kwena mwatulepaula fwe ma workers. while some of your analyasis may be true, it will be folly to heap all the blame on the poor worker. i can assure you that there are equaly qualified people in this company. the ten year of lack of investiment in the company (chiluba period) while other companies where progressing technologically cost the company an opportunity to compete. when GRZ thought of privatising zamtel chiluba stopped any new investiment. if the share holder had bought new equipment and expanded, money would have been flowing in. spare the workers they have gone through a lot. and now these job loses have hit all of us. the workers are not to blame entirely
I must agree totally with #56.I think most of those commenting are doing so in immense ignorance.Most of you have no idea of what is on the ground.Have you not so far head of people(former zamtel employees) collapsing?People(family men and women) are getting as low as 4 million.Don’t underrate the intelligence of employees,some of them are so sharp,even more than some of you passing those unrealistic comments.10 years of no investment is not a joke.This was all because of short fool(chiluba).Gentlemen be real.tell me,what sort of company or business can run for over 10 years without recapitalization and survive?today u blame the poor zamtel employee,Don’t be silly!!!!!!!keep quiet if you don’t know to analyze issues
Good to hear that workers have been paid their dues quickly, for a change. My advice to you all workers is that use this money wisely. This may well be the very last money some of you will EVER get!! Epo mpelele.
Lapgreen is already replacing Zambians with Expatriates, webu chushi!
Ba TC bikeni bola panshi. Zamtell like most zambian companies had over employed. It is nice to hear that all those that have been laid off were paid their dues. It is up to these individuals to make good of what they have received.If they are clever they should pool there money, atleast 10% of what they have received and appoint managers amongst themselves who should identify potential investments so that the can be drawing dividends from and be employers and employees at the same time. They can choose anything from mining to farming, working as individuals will not take them anywhere.
# 1, Zambia Airways was liquidated and employees were paid, though the amounts were small , that is what was due to them. The scenario is different.
let them privatised zambian government as well
My empathy to the retrenchees. There is a life out there. We cannot change the wheels of time. Hope is on how the package is used and a hope to be reemployed. Liato must move fast to Lap Green as he did to KCM to prevent the expatriates taking up what Zambians can do.
Now that Zamtel is sold lets get read for higher tax rates since the government is trying to reduce its sources of income, where are we going?