Tue, 05 Sep 2017 10:35:14 +0000
By Aaron Chiyanzo
GOVERNMENT should take back control of major private entities to safeguard the economy and the interests of employees, United National Independence Party (UNIP) deputy secretary general Alfred Banda has advised.
Rev. Banda noted that government was at the mercy of investors because it did not have an adequate stake in the ownership of the private entities.
He was reacting to the impasse between the Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) and Mopani Copper Mine, which has led to revenue losses and an averted threat of job losses.
Rev. Banda advised government to own more shares in private companies and also come up with deliberate policies which would ensure that the economy was safeguarded.
He said in an interview with the Daily Nation that government was failing to give clear guidelines in the operations of private entities because it was not a majority shareholder.
Rev. Banda reiterated that private companies were free to exploit resources with impunity because government did not have direct control of the situation.
“All these things would not have been happening if government had a major stake in these companies. Both CEC and Mopani are private entities largely owned by private hands, government cannot control them.
“So, when private entities are at loggerhead, it’s the economy and employees that suffer. When two elephants are fight, it’s the grass that suffers,” he said.
Rev. Banda advised government to take up at least 51 percent of shares in all critical private companies so that it was fully involved in the decision making process.
He said that the top notch for government should be to safeguard the economy and the interests of employees.
Meanwhile, Rev. Banda also reiterated that employees should not be exploited whenever there were disagreements between companies.
He emphasized that employees’ interests should be considered of high esteem and that they should not be used as leverage for companies to safeguard their interests.
