Zambian gov't denies repossessing telecommunication firm

The Zambian government has denied reports that it has repossessed the country's only fixed line operator from LAP Green Network of Libya, a senior official said on Friday. There have been media reports that the Zambian cabinet has repossessed Zamtel in which the Libyan firm had a 75 percent stake following findings of a Commission of Inquiry which established that the company was fraudulently and illegally sold. Zambian President Michael Sata instituted an inquiry to establish how the Libyan firm got the 75 percent shares immediately after winning last September's elections. Some local media have quoted sources saying that cabinet made a decision to repossess the company after a meeting on Wednesday and that the government would engage an undisclosed process so ensure that operations of the company are not affected. But Minister of Communications Yamfwa Mukanga said it is not true that the government had repossessed the company from Libya's LAP Green Network. The Zambian Minister told a privately-owned radio station HOT FM on Friday that the cabinet has not yet made a decision on the matter following a report submitted to the country's president by the commission tasked to probe how the company was sold. He said cabinet is still waiting for a memo from the minister of finance as directed by the president before a decision is made on the future of the Libyan firm. The Libyan firm acquired a 75 percent stake in Zamtel at a cost of 257 million U.S. dollars in 2009, but the sale was received with resistance by opposition leaders and Civil Society Organizations with new Zambian President Sata threatening that he will repossess the company if he won the September elections.