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Management Transfer Raising Workers' Fears

Global News Digest

NIGERIA

Imminent transfer of management from indigenuous hands to the Dutch group, Pentascope International, at the Nigerian Telecommunication Company (NITEL) is causing fears of job loss among workers. So reports the oldest newspaper in the country, Daily Times of Nigeria, February 21:

Such fears led Mr. Chigboh Anichebe, Deputy Director of the Nigerian Bureau of Public Enterprises, the agency responsible for the government's privatization program to call a press conference to assure workers that NITEL’s privatization would not cost them their jobs. He told the anxious staff that the Dutch company was only going to provide personnel for about 20 key positions in NITEL.

The Dutch consortium emerged winner in a recent contest involving several other foreign companies that vied for the contract to manage the Nigerian telecommunication giant.

"The rest of the workers are therefore going to be NITEL old staff who already know how the company operates," Anichebe said.

Contract and management fee negotiations remain to be finalized before the Dutch company can take over management.