Many of the reasons given for restructuring instead sound like the original rationale for privatisation back in 2019
The Angolan government taken a sudden change of direction, cancelling plans to privatise the struggling state-owned operator, Angola Telecom, according to TechAfrica. The company will be restructured instead the report says, citing local sources.
Apparently Angola Telecom is now viewed as a strategic resource because of its importance to the country’s communications infrastructure.
In an interview with Journal de Angola, the Minister of Information and Social Communication Technologies, Manuel Homem, acknowledged that some issues had initially made privatisation seem like a good solution.
They included poor management of the operator, wrong-headed investments and not charging institutions for services on the grounds that they are also part of the state.
Now a strategic restructuring plan has been approved to eliminate unnecessary services and poor practices. The government is also on the look-out for strategic partnerships to make better use of Angola Telecom’s infrastructure and provide customers with better quality services.
Much of which sound like the reasons given for its inclusion in the privatisation programme all the way back in 2019, along with about 50 other concerns.