The Zimbabwe government is investigating the country’s biggest private mobile phone company and could withdraw its operating licence for alleged ”subversive activities”, the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The paper said this followed a year-long probe into the foreign currency dealings of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, the proceeds of which the paper claimed were ”used to finance subversive activities to undermine the Zimbabwe government”.
Officials from Econet were not immediately available to comment on the Herald report.
Econet’s founder and major shareholder, Strive Masiyiwa, is also the publisher of The Daily News, Zimbabwe’s only independent daily that was shut down by armed police in September for operating without registration.
Masiyiwa is regularly accused by state media of harbouring presidential ambitions, and also of supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
According to the Herald report, Econet had allegedly been receiving payment in foreign currency for calls made into the country, but the money was not remitted in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe is critically short of foreign currency needed to import food, fuel and medicines.
Apart from Econet Wireless, Telecel Zimbabwe operates a network, as does the state-run Net One. — Sapa-AFP