Zimbabwe closes down mobile firm

Zimbabwe’s third largest mobile phone company has been closed down for not having a licence.

Telecel Zimbabwe has been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the disposal of a 40 per cent stake in the company worth $20 million.

Information, Communication and Technology Minister Supa Mandiwanzira said a committee had been set up to oversee the closure of the telco, which has over 2.5 million subscribers.

“Our position that Telecel has been without a licence has been adopted by the Cabinet,” Mr Mandiwanzira said in Harare.

“There is a committee in place to execute the Cabinet decision,” he added.

Zimbabwe has three mobile phone networks, the other being the government controlled NetOne and the country’s largest telco, Econet, owned by Mr Strive Masiyiwa.

INTERESTS OF WORKERS AND SUBSCRIBERS

Mr Mandiwanzira said the government, in shutting down Telecel, would take into account the interests of workers and subscribers.

“Government will be guided by the fact that there are employees there and that there are subscribers who might be affected,” he said.

The Postal and Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe first wrote to Telecel in January, warning that the company would be shut down for failing to comply with the country’s laws on ownership.

Zimbabwe’s controversial indiginisation laws require that foreign-owned companies cede majority shareholding to locals.

Telecel Zimbabwe is a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Company, which owns 60 per cent stake in the Zimbabwe arm. The rest is owned by a consortium of Zimbabwe investors.

A shareholding dispute pitting President Robert Mugabe’s relatives and some local investors erupted last year and there is speculation that the closure of Telecel is linked to power struggles in the ruling Zanu Patriotic Front party.