New reports were released recently by a London-based campaign group Global Witness and the Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) ahead of a crunch Kimberley meeting in Israel where Zimbabwe was set to dominate talks again.
The Global Witness report dubbed the “Return of the blood diamond: The deadly race to control Zimbabwe’s new-found diamond wealth” alleged that the southern African nation's political and military elites are using violence and their links to firms to take advantage of the country's diamond wealth.
"Over the past three years, the national army has visited appalling abuses on civilians in Marange's diamond fields," Global Witness campaigner Elly Harrowell said.
"Nobody has been held to account for these crimes, and now it turns out that the joint venture companies nominally brought in to improve conditions are directly linked to (President Robert Mugabe's) Zanu-PF and military elite."
Zimbabwe allocated 2200 hectare concessions in Marange last year to Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners to exploit the Marange resource in joint venture (JV) with the state mining company, Zimbabwe Mining Development Company (ZMDC).
The mining claims were seized from African Consolidated Resources (ACR) in 2006.
Global Witness alleged that mines minister, Obert Mpofu, a Zanu PF stalwart, had been at the forefront of efforts to block oversight of the JV companies.
The report further alleged that Mpofu had imposed his allies as board members, and sidelined ZMDC.
Global Witness fired salvo at Mpofu saying, together with his cronies, the minister had demonstrated a “flagrant disregard” for the scheme's rules.
“They seem intent on pursuing their violent, self-serving exploitation of the country's diamond wealth. Nobody should be under the illusion that this is about anything other than lining the pockets of Zanu PF and their allies, who are being squeezed by economic sanctions," said Harrowell.
The report further claimed that the investment deals with Mbada and Canadile were done with scant regard for legal process against a background of violence and intimidation.
“This leaves the door wide open for state looting and corruption, and raises the very real possibility of internationally certified diamonds financing renewed political violence in Zimbabwe,” said Harrowell.
The campaign group could not hide its dismay with the Kimberley Process (KP) certification scheme, saying its response to Zimbabwe's diamond industry woes was ‘puny’.
Global Witness charged that KP should have suspended Zimbabwe for what it described as flagrant breaches of the KP code rather than settling "on a weak compromise agreement".
It was referring to last year’s resolution by KP at a meeting held in Namibia not to suspend Zimbabwe, but ordered the country to follow a set of 'guidelines' in an attempt to bring it back in line with international standards by mid 2010.
The campaign group reiterated its call for the suspension of Zimbabwe from KP.
"Global Witness is calling on international governments to suspend Zimbabwe from the Kimberley Process scheme until it can prove its diamonds aren’t bankrolling violence and abuse," it said.
It is, however, highly unlikely that the southern African country would be suspended from KP.
A diamond monitor for Zimbabwe Abbey Chikane recently told a teleconference meeting of a KP Working Group on Monitoring that Zimbabwe had met the international diamonds watchdog’s minimum requirements and should be allowed to resume diamond exports from the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields .
Even if the KP decides to suspend Zimbabwe, President Mugabe has already threatened to pull out of the KP if the country is not allowed to sell its gems.
Carefully timed, PAC also issued a damning report titled "Diamonds and Clubs: The Militarised Control of Diamonds and Power in Zimbabwe", alleging that Marange diamonds were sustaining ZANU PF and fuelling the ongoing political conflict.
PAC alleged that the story of Zimbabwe's contested diamond fields was about many things including 'smuggling', 'a scramble fuelled by raw economic desperation and unfathomable greed' and heart-wrenching cases of government-sponsored repression and human rights violations.
"We are a principled country. These people (PAC) have employed some locals to demonise their country. They are working against the people of Zimbabwe,” mines minister Mpofu was quoted as saying by state media.
"We are going to deal with those peddling falsehoods to international organisations legally. These people are very lucky that they are in Zimbabwe. In some of these Western countries you cannot peddle State secrets to hostile organisations and get away with it," the minister said.
Zimbabwean police have since arrested Centre for Research and Development (CRD) director Farai Maguwu for peddling confidential state information.
CRD had been in the forefront of exposing human rights violations by soldiers and soldiers deployed to curb illegal mining activities and the rampant smuggling of the precious stones in Marange.
Global Witness recommended that Zimbabwe immediately withdraw the army from the diamond fields, hold rights abusers to account and suspend imports and exports of rough diamonds until the diamond sector meets international standards.
It said Zimbabwe should also suspend the introduction of new investors into Marange until the legality of current joint ventures can be established, and effective oversight implemented.
Bolshie as the Zimbabwean government is, it is rather a waste of time for Global Witness to make such a list of wishful demands.
Harare has shown its abhorrence for Non Governmental Organisations such as the Global Witness and PAC, which it sees as fronts of the western governments it had been fighting a ‘cold war’ with, since 2000 when it embarked on a chaotic land reform programme.
It is not a secret that the Zimbabwean government has convinced the KP monitor that the army maintained their presence at the loosely secured diamond fields.
It is not also a secret that over 140 applications for diamond mining concessions in Marange had been lodged with the Zimbabwean government and knowing the manner in which Harare operates it would not be a surprise to hear that more licenses have been awarded to several firms to start mining at the diamond fields.
What is needed is for these NGOs to work closely with the Zimbabwean government to ensure KP codes are adhered to for it is indeed highly unlikely that the diamond watchdog will suspend the southern African country.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Rough&Polished, from Namibia
