Mugabe going Amin’s way

Foreign shop owners in Zimbabwe have been told to close shop by the end of this year by the Secretary for Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, George Magosvongwe – one off Bob Mugabe’s best buddies. He told a parliamentary committee meeting that the foreigners who defied the law would be prosecuted.
“I confirm that some non-indigenous entities are still operating in the reserved sectors and there is a deadline (of) January 1 for them to comply with the requirement to relinquish their holdings in that sector… and we are putting in place measures for enforcement in the event that they do not comply,” said Magosvongwe.
Magosvongwe also said that the ZANU PF government was in the process of identifying indigenous Zimbabweans who would take over ownership of those businesses in the particular sectors.
Under the country’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, foreigners operating in the ‘reserved sector’ are not welcome, with the law making it mandatory for the business owners to produce compliance certificates. The certificates are only eligible for indigenous Zimbabweans.
According to the Act, reserved sectors include agriculture, transport, retail, barbershops, hairdressing and beauty salons, employment and estate agencies, bakeries, tobacco processing, advertising agencies and even arts and crafts provisions.