SA should get first dibs on Vodacom – CWU
If Telkom wanted to sell its stake in Vodacom it should do so, but to the government, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said yesterday.
The CWU has called on the government to buy back shares sold by Telkom to Vodafone and probe the restructuring of parastatals that are under the communications department.
The objection comes after the union established that elements within Telkom had links with foreigners, the government and the Congress of the People.
As a result, the CWU has called for an investigation into the behaviour of Telkom in the transaction and the discipline of those found to be in the wrong.
The union believes that Telkom is being handed over to the British firm by the sale of a controlling interest in Vodacom to Vodafone.
CWU also wants the department to investigate Telkom’s tender process, because it believes there are executives who are accelerating the outsourcing of some divisions, despite an agreement between the union and Telkom to halt the process until next year.
The union said it had agreed to halt any restructuring in the information and communications technology sector, especially in parastatals, until after the elections.
It alleged that the executives, whom it accused of continuing with the process behind closed doors, wanted to benefit from the deals.
The CWU has taken its cue from SA Communist Party secretary-general Blade Nzimande’s recent comments that the Vodacom deal needed to be reversed.
Telkom added 300 000 subscribers in Nigeria in October, according to its chief executive, Reuben September.
In the six months to September, Telkom’s Multilinks unit had increased subscriber numbers to 1.2 million from 196 000, September said.
The average revenue per user in Nigeria was $16 (R164) a month.
September said the fixed-line operator anticipated completing the sale of its Telkom Media business by the end of this year.
Telkom-Vodacom deal discussion
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