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Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
TELECEL Zimbabwe paid a $5 million instalment in part settlement of the $137,5 million regulatory requirement for renewal of its licence, which had run its full course of 15 years.

The mobile phone operator said last week that the payment was part of the original payment plan agreed with Government through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe.

Newly appointed chief executive Mrs Angeline Vere said that Telecel had paid the instalment for its licence fee that was due for the month of June 2015 in line with the original payment plan.

“Telecel is happy to announce that we have paid the licence instalment that was due for the month of June in line with our agreement with POTRAZ. We are already preparing for the next instalment, due in December this year in accordance with our contract with the regulator,” she said.

The payment of the June instalment is part of an agreement between POTRAZ and Telecel to pay its $137,5 million operational licence over a 7 year payment plan, the firm’s CEO said.

The new licence will have tenure of 20 years.

Fellow industry operator, Econet Wireless, has already paid for the renewal of its licence and at that, paid the full amount of $135,7 million.

While the telecoms firm confirmed in a statement that it had paid the instalment, it would not disclose how much was paid, but investigations revealed an amount of $5 million was paid.

POTRAZ had not responded to questions seeking official confirmation about the amount of instalment paid. Telecel ran into problems with Government over its licence fee after a local bank failed to transfer a deposit of $6 million, meant for its licence, to Treasury.

The latest development could now help thaw tense relations with Government, which in April gave Telecel an ultimatum to wind up operations within 30 days as it did not have a valid licence.

However, industry sources said issues dogging the mobile operator where not yet over although the licence fees instalment payment had laid the ground for fruitful engagement.

Importantly, a modicum of cordial relations between Telecel majority shareholder Vimpelcom and Government will give the Russian firm time to plan its exit from the troubled company.

It is understood the Russian mobile telecommunications giant is looking to sell at the earliest possible opportunity and could exit Zimbabwe within two months if it finds a willing buyer.

Ostensibly, the licence fee payment could be indication of more good tidings to come, after Empowerment Corporation bickering parties, James Makamba and Dr Jane Mutasa reconciled.

The two, who have been in Telecel since issuance of its empowerment licence, had been wrangling over shares not taken by indigenous empowerment group that failed to pay for the shares.

But Telecel has since 2007 been operating ultra vires regulatory requirements on shareholding, with Telecel International holding 60 percent while a local consortium owned the balance of 40 percent.

Its operating licence issued in 1998 was amended when POTRAZ came into being in 2002 and sought to realign the shareholding structure with the Postal and Telecommunications Act.

The Act required foreign operators to hold a maximum of 49 percent shareholding in telecoms firms, which Telecel repeatedly pledged to comply with but came short now and again.

Initially, POTRAZ cancelled the licence, in 2007, but the company was allowed to continue operating after it successfully appealed to then Transport and Communications Minister, Nicholas Goche.

This was on the basis that the company would have complied with the regulatory requirement by the time of renewing the 15 year operating licences that were issued in 1998