Investors insist
on 'token' stake by state,
writes
Martin Rushmere
A NEW plan has been hatched to rescue bankrupt government-owned cargo airline Affretair. The R200 million debt will be converted into equity with DHL Aviation, Total Oil and the government the main shareholders.
The plan has the backing of the national privatisation agency. Privatisation makes sense, says agency chief executive Andrew Bvumbe, as creditors will not benefit at all from liquidation.
Bvumbe says that because Zimbabwe is land-locked it needs its own cargo airline, rather than relying on foreign carriers who are paid in foreign currency. That assertion is strenuously opposed by charter companies who have been flying into Harare for the past five years. They say that Affretair has needlessly forced up rates by having the power of veto over airlines that do not fall into line.They would also happily accept local currency if there was any international confidence in it.
Potential investors such as DHL are seen to be willing to take a shareholding Ñ provided the government has only a token stake. If the government has more than 20%, this will give it executive power and we could go back to the situation where the airline is ordered to accept government business without getting payment, said one airline analyst in Harare.
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