Why should Slyvia Mulinge be rejected as Vodacom's Managing Director
Towards our agenda 2025, nation interests for Tanzania should come ahead of anything as farequested as regional strategic decisions are concerned. Unfortunately the British owned companies don't see how their careless moves can put our national interests at disadvantage and this out of reality mentality has repetitively given leverage to Kenyan nationals at the expense of Tanzania's regional prospects with detrimental effect on our economic welfare as a result.
Kenyans as people are our natural rivals, corrupt and money laundering machines just like Bashir Awale a former managing Director at Standard Bank with a $6 mln bounty on his head while protectionists at home and lack comittment, competence and expertise to perform at diligence. Appointing any of them to lead a big company like Vodacom poses serious risks to its prospects.
Just like Precisionair under Kioko, a sole electrical transformers plant in the region Tanelec was put under management of Kenyan nationals at their prime, before ended up minting loses. One should not forget how Kibo Breweries met impenitent greedy and protectionist takeover by East African Breweries under its CEO Gerald Mahinda at time.
As a bargaining tocken that subsequently ensured its immediate closure agreement with Sabmiller after ownership exchange of plants in Moshi and Thika in what was at the time Kenyans' a bragging right in what was infamously baptized "Beer war", rendered Moshi town and her peripherial residence jobless with the disappearance of most catchy beer brand "Kibo gold" from the market.
The same is a repetitive sad story about the second take over of Serengeti Breweries by the same East African Breweries that recently was put under Fair Competition Commission scrutiny after terms of take over were violated. Again as a result of poor decisions taken in Nairobi that deliberately ignored agreements put forward by Fair Tanzania's Competition Commission.
After a takeover behind the scene ill motives were pioneered that resulted into all efforts to be channelled towards improving Tusker brand image within Tanzanian market at the expense of a market share of a more prominent Serengeti beer. Serengeti beer was intentionally rejected the same treatment within Kenya as the takeover agreement requested aside a termination of local sports sponsorship that led to market share plunge at home.
Prior that, it has to be remembered via relentless promotions Serengeti beer had managed to establish its a niche of its own and commanded a respect and an outmatched receptiveness among consumers. Its market share had fairly risen even under fierce competition from Sabmiller and during a takeover Serengeti Breweries had already an overall market share of 15% within Tanzania.
Unfortunately under the prohibitive control and poor management of the East African Breweries in Nairobi that market share shrank to less than 7% at the moment. To me that did not happen as a coincidence considering the fact the poor performance was for a second time and especially after seeing the same East African Breweries is investing a $150 mln plant in Kisumu a nose and mouth from Mwanza where Serengeti Brewery is having another plant.
To me a demise of Serengeti Breweries was meant to give an excuse for a new plant in Kisumu and trying to use instigated poor performance to shut down a plant in Mwanza, a misallocation of resources.
As never ending recurrence of sabotageous coincidences, the same story can be explained of Tanelec acquisition by Transcentury under Kiuna Gachao, again a Kenyan company that resulted into its underperformance as a result of a brand new subsidiary being opened in Kenya rendering its market share being constrained and hence redundance at home while job creation in Nairobi.
The same was the unfair tactics for the most talked about Arusha dairy acquisition by Brookside that left bitter taste among diplomatic circles in the region as Uhuru hapoened to be that ultimate torch bearer for this company.
I have a strong feeling madam Mulinge is sent on a mission and suspiciously is being assigned to oversee a takeover of Vodacom by Safaricom, a move that will go with managerial limitations towards company petformance that will erase its competitive in the market a thing that will discourage the much needed innovation while posing Vodacom for a a smooth take over at a throw away price.
Your Excellency President JPM, with my esteem humble advice i ask your office to reject this appointment. I also beg your office to stop letting Tanzanian companies being put under any sort of influence or control by Kenyans. Kenyans as people lack merit are incompetent while corrupt and have proven failure even on the running of their own companies.
Think of loss making KQ under Naikuni and Nguze, Uchumi under Kipng'etich and Nakumatt under Shah e.t.c. the list can go on. It's time to do away with giving them a chance to destroy good gains by our companies especially those public ones as their failure will be disastrous to our economy. Let us stop from being Guinea pigs.