The government is scouting for a strategic investor to bail out Telkom Kenya following the acquisition of the telco last year to reduce the risk of spying of critical government information.
Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo says the government is exploring spending Ksh 7.2 billion from national coffers to clear the telco’s deb.
The financial status of Telkom Kenya is still in the red even after the government bought back 60pc stake from Helios Investment group.
Broadcasting Principal Secretary Prof. Edward Kisiang’ani says the legal status of Telkom Kenya is still contestable as the transaction was not completed forcing American towers company to shut down critical infrastructure that are of national security nature.
Telkom Kenya owns 723 towers which were transferred to American Tower Corporation.
Owalo appealed to Parliament to relook at the privatization policy to prevent a reoccurrence of the same. Legislators were also concerned about rising cases of hacking and other forms of cyber crime.
Owalo said the cost of calls will from next month be lower when the mobile termination rate is further reduced.
