Public Agenda

"Black star line divestiture ... messed up!," is the banner on the front page of the Public Agenda. The paper says official indecision and wranglings between different government agencies over what to do with the collapsed and debt-ridden national shipping line, the Black Star Line, threaten to keep the once international state carrier on the list of companies slated for divestiture. The Public Agenda says the plight of the moribund state-owned- enterprise, has been complicated by the sheer amount of debt it piled up over the years, which has left if crippled and chased by creditors who threatened to seize and auction its vessels to pay themselves. According to the paper, the strange situation has come about because of factors including the inability of the key government agencies involved with the divestiture of the company to come out clearly with what needs to be done. The paper says while the Divestiture implementation committee (DIC) prefers liquidating the company, the sector ministry, Roads and Transport, insists on a startegic investor. GRi