Ester Mbathera
Intensive preparations are underway to complete the dismantling of Namibia Post and Telecom Holdings (NPTH) by December.
The company confirmed this in its 2022/23 financial report, released on Tuesday.
“In the next financial year, NPTH will progress towards the successful dismantling of the holdings company, which we anticipate will be concluded by December 2024, as per the approved dismantling plan,” reads the report.
This process was initiated following a Cabinet decision in July 2014.
The Dismantling Act (Act No. 7 of 2020), passed and gazetted in August 2020, formalised the process.
This Act required the NPTH Board to dismantle the company, and the Cabinet approved a structured plan for this process in 2021. The dismantling is part of a strategic effort to restructure NPTH and streamline its operations.
The process involves transferring immovable properties, movable assets, and shares to its subsidiaries, along with managing employee transitions.
The report indicated that the Dismantling Act shall only come into operation on a date to be determined by the Minister of Information and Technology by notice in the Government Gazette, after which the dismantling process shall commence.
“The readiness report will be submitted to the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises in the current financial period. Significant progress has been made thus far, in line with the approved dismantling plan,” reads the report.
In anticipation of the Dismantling Act’s implementation, the company has adopted a collaborative approach, involving stakeholders from NamPost, Telecom Namibia, and representatives from the Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU).
This collaboration includes the establishment of three inter-institutional committees, one of which is the Human Capital Committee.
This committee focuses on managing the transfer of NPTH employees to its subsidiaries, as mandated by the Act.
“Although NPTH has not succeeded in securing 100% placement of its employees to the two subsidiaries, the matter has been escalated to the ultimate shareholder for further intervention and guidance,” reads the report.
NPTH is prioritising the sale of its remaining 9% shares in MTC, currently valued at N$500 million, which will be enlisted on the Namibian Stock Exchange upon successful disposal in the 2023/24 financial year.
The company indicated that it will ensure the smooth funding and implementation of Telecom Namibia CAPEX projects.
“This is particularly crucial, as the company has faced significant financial constraints in recent years, partly attributed to outdated and redundant billing systems in place,” reads the report.
NPTH wishes to make progress to transform NamPost into a fully-fledged commercial bank.
Meanwhile, NPTH has achieved a group revenue of N$5.3 billion with a consolidated net profit of N$1 billion.
This is attributed to strategic investments in its subsidiaries, which include Namibia Post Limited, Telecom Namibia, and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC).
The subsidiaries contributed dividends totalling N$417 million for the fiscal year.
MTC contributed the larger portion to the group’s revenue and profitability.
It declared an interim dividend of N$209.5 million in the current fiscal year.
Telecom contributed a dividend of N$10.6 million for the 2021/2022 financial year and NamPost paid a dividend of N$8 million for the previous fiscal year.
Telecom received N$235 million from NPTH to support its capital expenditure projects, which included mobile network expansion, fibre rollout, and system upgrades.
The report highlights NamPost’s focus on cost management and digital transformation in response to rising interest rates and inflation pressures.
The NPTH earned N$117.7 million from returns on its investment portfolio, which totals N$1.6 billion.
This portfolio includes various investment vehicles comprising equities, bonds, and other financial instruments.
NPTH’s overall net profit for the year was N$561 million, reflecting a 25.9% increase compared to the previous year’s net profit of N$446 million.
The company acknowledges operating with a limited staff, a long-standing issue that poses challenges to its operations and is potentially affecting efficiency and resource allocation.
