Putting privatisation into practice: the case of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited

During the 1990s, African governments sought to translate their commitment
to privatise state enterprises into action. In doing so, they faced questions
concerning the form in which these enterprises would be sold, to whom and
on what terms. This paper examines the privatisation of Zambia
Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) between 1992 and 2000. It argues that
the capacity of the Zambian government to determine the answers to these
questions was constrained by a number of factors, of which the most important
were the strategies pursued by potential purchasers, the demands of
donors and the ®nancial weakness of ZCCM itself.