By Silvia Nyambura
The shareholders of Uganda Telecom (UTL) have come up with a plan to revive the company. Over the next 60 days, UTL will be recapitalized with an un-revealed amount of money in a bid to regain its competitive edge. Owned 69% by Libyan firm LAP Green and 31% by the government of Uganda, the company has over the last 3 years been struggling with outstanding debts and cash flow issues.
The revival plan was revealed at a closed door shareholders meeting held in Kampala recently. Attendees included a Libyan delegation led by Libya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Al-Dairi and LAP Green Group CEO Mr. Wafik Al-Shater. The delegation from the Government of Uganda on the other hand was led by the Minister of State for Finance (Privatization), Hon. Aston P Kajara.
Speaking during the meeting, Al-Shater said, “As shareholders, we are aware of the challenges faced by UTL and this is the reason we are meeting. UTL is a company with enormous potential and we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Management and Staff who have been creative and tenacious in ensuring the company remains competitive. We are very pleased with the progress made and are hopeful that we will be able to revitalize the telecom.”
He reaffirmed LAP Green’s commitment to continue investing in Uganda’s market despite harsh economic times.
“We seek to resolve the issues that currently prevail and are strongly committed to finding a way forward. Unfortunately because of the internal issues that have happened in Libya, there has been some slowdown in the progress of plans that were put together previously. We are however confident that within the next 60 days we will come up with some meaningful strategic plans for the business to keep growing. In this interim period we have taken the necessary steps to ensure that urgently needed funds are available to support business operations,” he added.
UTL Board Chairman Stephen Kaboyo said the discussions they had were fruitful. The spirit of closely working together was emphasized to come up with a commercial solution.
“There is greater value in continuation of the business, which is the interest of both shareholders. We therefore reached a consensus that there is need to downstream immediate cash into the business which will be utilized to invest in the upgrading of the network to make UTL competitive again. The investment will also help settle outstanding trade creditors, financial institutions debt and improve cash-flow. As a result the company is expected to enter into a position of growth and profitability making it attractive to internal and external stakeholders,” he explained.
His excellency Al-Dairi said, “I am delighted to visit Uganda with whom historically we have shared good relations. This visit is within the framework of development and consolidation of relations between the two countries and our knowledge of the regional role played by Uganda which warrants our continued attention. In the framework of the visit, all Libyan investments were discussed to develop and increase support wherever there is need.”
Hon Aston P. Kajara confirmed, “We have had discussions with the Libyan government and have agreed a rescue plan should be worked out and investment found so that the company can be turned around.”
