http://www.finance24.co.za/Finance/Companies/0,,1518-24_1607047,00.html?kps=193
Cosatu: Re-nationalise Telkom
18/10/2004 18:59 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday called upon government to re-nationalise Telkom following weekend media reports that African National Congress (ANC) heavyweights want a slice of the R6bn of Telkom shares.
"If it is true that ANC-aligned investors are lining up to buy shares, this clearly points to a potential conflict of interest and Cosatu will be seeking clarity from those comrades named in the Sunday Times article as to their intentions," said union spokesman Patrick Craven.
He was referring to an article in the Sunday Times headed "ANC big guns eye Telkom" claiming ANC heavyweights had entered the race for Telkom's shares.
Cosatu is opposed to the buying of shares in Telkom and the privatising of essential services.
Craven said Cosatu "deplores the way in which Telkom has been concentrating on purely commercial objectives and has let the maximisation of its profits take precedence over every other consideration like service to the customer and saving jobs".
Privatisation of Telkom had "been disastrous" as thousands of consumers had had their lines disconnected while the telephone service had deteriorated, Craven said.
He said privatisation had led to businesses paying exorbitant tariffs for telecommunications, "which has had damaging effects on the economy as a whole".
Thousands of Telkom workers had also lost their jobs or their jobs were under threat, he said.
Edited by Adrienne Taylor
<b>I read that Sunday Report. The person that did all the initial privatisation of Telkom, will now be owning shares in it. Erm, hello government, wake up now and smell the coffee. The dream of the New South Africa is being dominated by a new breed of capitalist. The Nats did similar things after 1948. Just seems history repeats itself and we never learn the lessons of it. The gravy train just gets longer in SA, with more carriages. This is ridiculous. Give the shares to the poor people. Re-do the mess that Jay Naidoo created and the state should be more open in their documentation in this regard. Secret Shareholder Agreements with Managerial Control is hardly what anyone wanted SA's Telkom to become. Who knows what is written in that agreement. Now the same people want to buy into those shares and continue with the mess we have already while we pay through our teeth for it. This is not what the people of SA voted for.
Anyone foresee a long drawn out enquiry one day like the Shabir Shaik case that’s taken the news spotlight recently.</b>
Disclaimer. These are my personal views and not necessarily the views of MyADSL.
<b><hr noshade size="1"></b><font size="2"><font color="red"><b>You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.</b></font id="red"></font id="size2">
Cosatu: Re-nationalise Telkom
18/10/2004 18:59 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Monday called upon government to re-nationalise Telkom following weekend media reports that African National Congress (ANC) heavyweights want a slice of the R6bn of Telkom shares.
"If it is true that ANC-aligned investors are lining up to buy shares, this clearly points to a potential conflict of interest and Cosatu will be seeking clarity from those comrades named in the Sunday Times article as to their intentions," said union spokesman Patrick Craven.
He was referring to an article in the Sunday Times headed "ANC big guns eye Telkom" claiming ANC heavyweights had entered the race for Telkom's shares.
Cosatu is opposed to the buying of shares in Telkom and the privatising of essential services.
Craven said Cosatu "deplores the way in which Telkom has been concentrating on purely commercial objectives and has let the maximisation of its profits take precedence over every other consideration like service to the customer and saving jobs".
Privatisation of Telkom had "been disastrous" as thousands of consumers had had their lines disconnected while the telephone service had deteriorated, Craven said.
He said privatisation had led to businesses paying exorbitant tariffs for telecommunications, "which has had damaging effects on the economy as a whole".
Thousands of Telkom workers had also lost their jobs or their jobs were under threat, he said.
Edited by Adrienne Taylor
<b>I read that Sunday Report. The person that did all the initial privatisation of Telkom, will now be owning shares in it. Erm, hello government, wake up now and smell the coffee. The dream of the New South Africa is being dominated by a new breed of capitalist. The Nats did similar things after 1948. Just seems history repeats itself and we never learn the lessons of it. The gravy train just gets longer in SA, with more carriages. This is ridiculous. Give the shares to the poor people. Re-do the mess that Jay Naidoo created and the state should be more open in their documentation in this regard. Secret Shareholder Agreements with Managerial Control is hardly what anyone wanted SA's Telkom to become. Who knows what is written in that agreement. Now the same people want to buy into those shares and continue with the mess we have already while we pay through our teeth for it. This is not what the people of SA voted for.
Anyone foresee a long drawn out enquiry one day like the Shabir Shaik case that’s taken the news spotlight recently.</b>
Disclaimer. These are my personal views and not necessarily the views of MyADSL.
<b><hr noshade size="1"></b><font size="2"><font color="red"><b>You can take Telkom out of the Post Office but you can't take the Post Office out of Telkom.</b></font id="red"></font id="size2">
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