Zimbabwean mobile operator Telecel, which Russia’s VimpelCom indirectly owns, has been told by Zimbabwe’s government to release control its business to local citizens.

Telecel is Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile operator with just over 2.5 million network users, according to the country’s telecoms watchdog.

Meanwhile, Egyptian telecoms company Orascom has an indirect equity ownership in Telecel Zimbabwe. And VimpelCom is the parent company of Orascom.

Both VimpelCom and Orascom have allegedly failed to comply with Zimbabwe’s indigenisation policy, which compels foreign firms to cede their majority shares to black Zimbabweans.

Zimbabwe’s government has even gone as far to say that Telecel’s compliance with the indigenisation policy is planned to be a precondition for the renewal of its operating license, which expires this year.

However, VimpelCom has said it intends to offload its majority stake in the Zimbabwean mobile operator anyway.

Late last year, it was reported that VimpelCom, which owns Egypt’s Orascom, plans to sell its stake in Telecel as part of an exit plan from some African markets.

And in 2011, it was widely reported that Orascom had entered into talks with Zimbabwe’s government regarding the reduction of its 60% share in Telecel.

“The pressure is on them (to comply with the indigenisation policy). If they don’t do that, I will not  renew their licence,” said Nicholas Goche, the Zimbabwean communications minister.

“They must meet the conditions they were asked to meet. They must go back to the original position of 60% and 40% foreign. Once they meet that position, there will be no problem,” added Goche.

Officials at Telecel Zimbabwe’s offices were not immediately reachable for comment on the latest developments regarding the company’s licence renewal.

Zimbabwe’s state run telecommunications regulatory body, the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), which falls under Goche’s ministry, has already renewed the license of Telecel rival Econet Wireless for $137.5 million.

The new licenses have a tenure of 20 years each compared to 15 years for the previous licenses, added Goche.

Other conditions that are likely to be pinned to the license renewals in the country include increased enforcement of infrastructure sharing among Zimbabwean telcos and the implementation of hiring local citizens.