Communications Minister Dina Pule recently said that Telkom\u2019s fate will be decided at the ANC\u2019s electoral conference in Mangaung, but analyst Chris Hart said that the ANC\u2019s decisions will not help the company.<\/p>\n
Pule told Business Day that ANC delegates at the Mangaung conference will weigh up the options the Department of Communications has proposed for reviving the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final policy decision that would be taken at the conference would shape Telkom\u2019s strategy and the running of the sector in general,\u201d Pule told Business Day.<\/p>\n
However, Chris Hart, chief strategist at Investment Solutions, said that the ANC\u2019s policy makers will ensure that Telkom will be \u201chitched to an ox wagon\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelkom has fabulous potential, but you have archaic thinking from the governmental policy makers,\u201d Hart said.<\/p>\n
The analyst said that the strategic direction for Telkom from the Mangaung conference will have a traditional 1950\u2019s idealistic overview instead of taking into account the modern age of telecoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot even the British socialists would ever want to return to a single operator in that market \u2013 they know what it was like,\u201d Hart said.<\/p>\n
He added that Vodacom, MTN and Cell C are far better positioned than Telkom, which is hamstrung by government, to take advantage of the rapidly changing technology and telecoms market.<\/p>\n
Telkom’s shares have lost nearly 48% of their value in 2012.<\/p>\n
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