Foreign shop owners in Zimbabwe in panic

Hundreds of shop owners of foreign descent with enterprises in Zimbabwean sectors reserved for locals have the past week been in a flurry approaching authorities with applications to indigenise their businesses ahead of January 1, 2014 deadline that could see them prosecuted should they continue operating without certification.

Foreign shop owners are trying to come to terms with the government announcement that is forcing them to close their businesses by the end of the year. Critics say the move does not promote pan-Africanism.

Earlier this month, President Robert Mugabe's government announced that retail businesses within the country would only be able to be run and owned by indigenous Zimbabweans. The declaration, the government said, was part of the country's "indigenization policy."

The January deadline is set to affect nationals from China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, among others.

Simon Udemba, president of the Nigerian Community in Zimbabwe, urged the government to reconsider.

"I would like to plead with the Zimbabwean government and people to be considerate in effecting this exercise," Udemba said.

"As an African and resident of Zimbabwe I am particularly concerned if the approach will be economically beneficial for the country."

He said Nigerians in Zimbabwe are contributing to the development of the country and that they should not be forced out of business.

"I believe Nigerians are providing necessary services. Nigerians have been here with Zimbabweans through all these years of isolation by the West, they never deserted Zimbabwe," he said.

"They have been in Zimbabwe through thick and thin, they live here with their families. Nigerians in Zimbabwe are doing genuine business and are servicing the economy positively."

"In my view there is no black African that should be called a foreigner in any black African land, we should look at one another as brothers," he added.