Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Professor Mthuli Ncube speaks to the press. The government has targeted selling some or all shares in 43 of its companies, most of them loss-making. (FILE PHOTO)
HARARE — Zimbabwe will be selling off its shares in five state-owned telecommunications companies and a bank to raise $350m as part of economic reforms being pursued by the government, finance minister Mthuli Ncube said in a statement.
Mr. Ncube said on Tuesday, March 19 that the government will dispose of shares in its two mobile phone operators, NetOne and Telecel Zimbabwe; the country’s sole fixed-line telephony company TelOne Zimbabwe; postal services Zimpost; and state-owned savings bank POSB.
“Work is already underway to identify transaction advisers. The government projects realising more than $350m from this initial process,” Ncube said in a statement, without giving a timeline.
The Southern African nation’s economy is experiencing a severe dollar crunch and faces more headwinds from a drought this year that has wilted crops and left up to 5.3-million people in need of food aid, according to a UN humanitarian agency.
The government has targeted selling some or all shares in 43 of its companies, most of them loss-making and which have relied on state bailouts over the years.
Rebuilding the troubled economy is the biggest challenge to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was re-elected in a disputed vote last July and is seeking to pivot away from some of the disastrous policies of his predecessor Robert Mugabe.
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