The Angolan government has abandoned its plans to privatize mobile operator Angola Telecom.

Angola's Minister of Information and Social Communication Technologies, Manuel Homem, confirmed the update to Jornal de Angola.

He told the publication that Angola Telecom is not part of the country's privatization plan, but should instead be treated as a strategic resource due to its significant role in the country’s communication infrastructure.

The company has encountered financial challenges in recent years, largely attributed to poor management and misguided investments.

Privatization may not be out of the question in the long term, with the publication reporting that Angola Telecom will be monitored until the end of the year, in order to have a sense of the "next" privatization step.

"The concept of privatization is very broad, it may not be a sale, it may be a management concession or a partnership, it all depends on cleaning up the history of the balance sheet," said Homem.

A Strategic Restructuring Plan has been approved, aimed at enhancing the company’s dynamics and reducing costs, while unnecessary services and harmful practices are being gradually eliminated at the company.

Plans to privatize Angola Telecom date back to 2019, when the company appointed a new board aimed at bringing in investment.

Last year, UK-based asset management firm Gemcorp won a $189 million contract from the government of Angola to operate, renovate, and expand state-owned Angola Telecom.

The Angolan government also took full control of another Angolan mobile operator, Unitel, last year.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco effectively nationalized the telco after seizing the shares of Isabel dos Santos, daughter of a former president, and Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento, an associate of dos Santos' father.

The Angolan government took over 50 percent of the business and now controls the total capital stock of Unitel.