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Stakeholders in the privatisation programme were on Monday holding a closed-door workshop on communication strategies expected to clear grey areas around the initiative to make it more effective.
The meeting was expected to discuss criteria used to evaluate bids, how to deal with retrenched workers from privatised entities, utilisation of privatisation proceeds and local participation in the programme.
The Privatisation Commission (PC) has over the past six years fought to give the programme a good image after public relations problems stemming from job losses and the sense of the loss of companies to foreigners.
Some of the PR strategies by the commission include the establishment of a special fund to help Malawians buy shares in enterprises, facility visits and, recently, seminars targeted at Malawians interested in participating in the programme.
Vice President Justin Malewezi, who opened the workshop in Blantyre said the seminars among other things, provide information on how to access financing for privatisation transactions and inform participants on the design of a sound technical proposal and feasible business plans.
Malewezi, however, said Malawians do not only need financial resources but also technical skills, a change of attitude towards work, among other considerations, to successfully run the privatised entities.
He noted that although the programme has raised K2 billion for the government so far, government has not to come out clearly on how best to use the money for it to have positive impact on the economy.
“Further, have we not done enough to explain to the population how much is coming by way of proceeds from the programme and how those proceeds are being utilised?”
“A further question relates to the evaluation of bids. Is it appropriate to include future investment, transfer of technology and management, and other such issues in the evaluation exercise or should it be simply a question of price?” queried Malewezi, urging the participants, among them the World Bank, the private sector, commissioners and civil servants.
The issue of prices for the companies has become very controversial as evidenced by the sale of David White Head and Sons (DWS) where the initial price of K73 million was rejected as too little by management, sparking a row with the PC.
On redundancies, Malewezi said although there is a common perception that privatisation leads to job losses, a review of the experience in Malawi and other countries shows that, on balance, the programme often leads to an increase in the employment rate as more capital is injected, new markets explored and expertise is brought in.
“However, there is no doubt that with some particular transactions, workers are made redundant. The question then is what should be done about that,” he said,
“One area being explored by the PC and Pricewaterhouse Coopers is the establishment of social safety net programmes that would provide job retraining programmes and skills enhancement opportunities for workers that have been retrenched. Is that enough or should the government be doing things differently?”
At the moment government pays off all retrenched workers with a standard compensation package or, where applicable, according to their terms of employment.
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