Govt to buy Telecel Zimbabwe

Government is set to buy the entire shareholding of Telecel Zimbabwe, the country's third largest mobile operator, as it moves to increase its influence in the telecommunications sector.

There is a feeling within government that its entities have performed dismally despite getting preferential treatment and the swoop on Telecel is seen as a step towards maintaining a significant presence in the capital-intensive but highly lucrative sector.  

ICT, Postal and Courier Services minister Supa Mandiwanzira said that Telecel's two shareholders Amsterdam- headquartered VimpleCom and Empowerment Corporation (EC) have offered to sell their interest in the business to government.

VimpleCom and EC have 60% and 40% equity respectively.

The move comes at a time when Telecel won a court reprieve in May against the cancellation of its operating licence by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).

Potraz had given Telecel 30 days to wind up its operations after reportedly failing to pay for the licence fees.

But the mobile operator contends that it had never defaulted in paying instalments on the licence fees under the seven-year payment period.

Officials in the ICT ministry indicated to NewsDay that it was improper for Telecel to have softer terms when other operators such as NetOne and Econet were told to pay in full.

Mandiwanzira refused to shed more light on the matter referring all questions to Zarnet.

There is an option of merging it with State-owned mobile operator NetOne and create the critical mass that would be able to compete with Econet Wireless Zimbabwe. Another option would be to sell the shareholding to another company.