The Social Security Fund (SSF) has acquired 30 per cent of the stake in Rwandatel, a government telecom company.But Eng. Albert Butare, State Minister for Infrastructure, recently said the government is still looking for a core investor to buy the remaining 70 per cent of shares. Some international telecom investors have expressed interest in these remaining shares, including: Celtel, Bitmap, Vitel Holdings and Telcom. SSF initially owned 0.08 per cent shares in Rwandatel and had a paid a capital of Frw2 M. With the new shares, capital has increased to Frw1.9 billion. The development comes after the telecommunication company that was initially owned by Terracom, an American owned company, was re-acquired by the government.While appearing on the well-known Sunday show “Crossfire” at Contact FM recently, Butare said the government had to cancel the Terracom deal after the company failed to meet technological demands to keep calls and internet costs low. However, according to SSF’s Director of Investment and Special Projects Department Afrique Ramba, their purchase of the shares is purely profit oriented.“As individuals we bought shares and our interest is to make money,” he said. He also added that their objective as a financial institution is to make the investor’s money profitable.Bids for Rwandatel are slated to be open on September 19th but Rambo insists they have no plans for buying more shares.Ends
