Ver Angola

Telecommunications

Government promises tender "soon" to privatize nationalized media

The Government announced this Thursday that "soon" a public tender will be launched for the reprivatization process of TV Zimbo and Grupo Media Nova, seized by the State under the process of asset recovery.

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"In relation to the press organs that were recovered, say that a process is underway and very soon we will open a tender for the privatization process of these organs, namely TV Zimbo and Grupo Média Nova," the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Media, Manuel Homem, said this Thursday in parliament.

The minister was responding to some "concerns" of the deputies during the discussion, in plenary, of the draft law authorizing the President, as holder of executive power, to legislate on tax and customs exemption for the "Project 4.º Unified Global Title - TGU".

The private television station TV Zimbo and the Media Nova Group, which owns the newspaper O País, Rádio Mais, and a printing company, have been under the state's guardianship for over a year after being seized as part of anti-corruption actions.

In addition to the referred media, the authorities also have under their tutelage other private bodies, including radio and television, allegedly constituted with public funds, seized and/or returned through the Attorney General's Office (PGR).

Last April, the government suspended the activity of Record and the channels Vida TV and ZAP Viva, as well as newspapers, magazines, websites and radio stations that had not been operating for the last two years after detecting "legal inconsistencies", according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Telecommunications.

The statement from the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Media (MINTTICS), to which Lusa had access, said that the company Rede Record de Televisão (Angola), Limitada, which is responsible for TV Record Africa, had a non-national as its executive director.

The Record network is owned by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD), whose leadership has been disputed in Angola by the Brazilian and Angolan leadership, recently legitimized by the government, has released several reports critical of the government, claiming that religious Brazilians are targets of xenophobia in Angola.

MINTTICS also detected that the pay-TV providers, TV Cabo, DSTV Angola and FINSTAR (owner of ZAP TV), although duly legalized, distribute the channels ZAP Viva, Vida TV and Rede Record "without the registration to exercise the activity of television in Angola.

This Thursday, the issue was also raised by the deputies during the 13th ordinary plenary meeting and the sector minister, Manuel Homem, explained that the referred bodies were suspended in the scope of an administrative transgression, and said that work is underway for their regularization.

"Also about the bodies that were suspended, in the scope of an administrative transgression of their functioning procedure, these entities are working on the administrative regularization that was imposed on them in the sector so that they can exercise their work within the norms and the law," Manuel Homem replied to the deputies.

Following the suspension, the television channel Vida TV announced that it would be forced to close, due to the termination of the contract with the DSTV platform, leaving about 300 workers unemployed.

The minister also spoke this Thursday about the "Angosat-2" satellite, assuring that the construction process "is taking place without any limitation from the point of view of project execution and deadlines are being observed.

Regarding the "compensations" of "Angosat-1", an investment of about 270 million euros, which disappeared after being launched into space on December 26, 2017, the governor said that they are reflected "in several ongoing actions in the country".

The broadcasting of the signal of the Public Television of Angola (TPA), the National Radio of Angola (RNA) and the telemedicine services of the Ministry of Health "are ensured with Angosat-1 compensation services."

"And, also, other services related to the availability of free internet to citizens in the media libraries and public squares are also assured by the Angosat-1 compensation," Manuel Homem further emphasized.

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