KAFWAYA EXPRESSES IGNORANCE OVER ZAMBIA AIRWAYS DEAL
By ADRIAN MWANZA
FORMER Minister of Transport and Communication Mutotwe Kafwaya has said that there is need to revise the shareholders agreement between Zambia Airways and Ethiopian Airlines to avoid confusion in the joint operations of the two airlines.
Mr Kafwaya said that he did not understand the obligations which were there but that there was need to put in place a fair agreement to ensure that there was equity in the operation.
The national airline which has not taken full effect is already marred with scandals like the alleged gross abuse of worker’s rights, glaring commercial and financial irregularities which had forced the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) paying legal fees for Ethiopian Airlines to resolve the issue of aircraft leasing because the airline would like to lease aircrafts to Zambia Airways which do not belong to them and the leasing company has not accepted their proposal.
The other factor listed was that Ethiopian Airlines gets $240, 000 per quarter as expert fees even before the airline took off.
But Mr Kafwaya said he did not know the contract very well but said there was need to make sure that the issue was tabled to avoid problems in the future.
He said he was not sure about any payments that were made by IDC to delve into the details and referred all queries on payments to the former minister of Finance Dr Bwalya Ngandu if he was privy to such.
Mr Kafwaya said that even the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was dependent on the deal the two entities had signed and hoped that Zambia Airways would not be on the receiving end.
He also said that the labour commission needed to move in and investigate the company’s Chief Executive Officer Bruk Endeshaw who is alleged to be mistreating Zambian workers, even though he was cleared by the board of directors.
