adminCommunication and Infrastructural Development Minister Nicholas Goche has said.
Minister Goche told legislators in Parliament last week that privatisation of Air Zimbabwe could only be realised when its balance sheet was attractive. He was responding to a question from Bulawayo South MP Mr
Eddie Cross (MDC-T) who wanted to know what the ministry intended to do in ensuring that the decision by Cabinet to privatise the airline was implemented as a matter of urgency.
“Air Zimbabwe currently has a debt overhang of about US$110 million. It is very difficult to attract reputable investors when your balance sheet is in such a state. Air Zimbabwe needs to be recapitalised first and then gradual steps can then realistically be taken to shed off some equity by Government for uptake by private investors. Cabinet is fully briefed on this matter,” Minister Goche said.
He said his ministry was working hard to source money to bail out the national airline.
“It is my ministry’s intention to secure capital injection into Air Zimbabwe so that immediate challenges such as payment of retrenchment packages for retrenched employees and payment of suppliers are urgently resolved. Equally, Air Zimbabwe needs new equipment to be competitive and continue to uphold its blameless safety record,” he said.
State Enterprises and Parastatals Minister Gorden Moyo recently told the House that finding an investor for the ailing national airline would be difficult. He said the Air Zimbabwe would find no taker even if Government offloaded it.
“There are certain entities where we think surely, Government should be out of. To get investors investing in a shell is not easy because of this debt overhang. But it may not be easy to sell Air Zimbabwe right now even if you want to offload it because you may not find a taker because of its state,” he said.
State Enterprises and Parastatals Management Deputy Minister Walter Chidakwa, said the issue of marketability to suitors by ailing parastatals was affected by tariffs.
“The investor looks at prices in Zimbabwe and compares them with those in the world. He looks at whether he will be able to recover his investment and we end up in this dilemma,” he said.
Online Reporter