Zim civic society ‘satisfied’ with Marange diamond infrastructure, security

Zimbabwe’s civic society, which visited the Marange diamond fields for the first time since coming under control of the government in 2008, said they were satisfied with the state-of-the-art infrastructure and security systems in the area.
Director of the Center for Research and Development Farai Maguwu said Harare had met the minimum standards required by the diamond watchdog, the Kimberley Process, in terms of security, safety, health and transparency within the production chain in Marange.
“We were impressed with the infrastructure and the security in place,” Maguwu was quoted by VOA Radio as saying.
“But we would be happier if it’s realized that the accelerated production we witnessed is translated into revenue collection by central government, and translate into material wealth for Zimbabweans.”
He, however, said tour was “very technical” as they only managed to inspect the process of production and were not given the opportunity to speak to affected communities or artisanal miners.
Magawu said production and sales figures were not provided, as well, adding that there was need for transparency.
The civic society, he said, managed to tour Marange Resources, Diamond Mining Corporation (DMC) and Mbada Diamonds’ operations.
He said although they could not tour Anjin operations because of time constrains, it was believed that about 300 Chinese nationals were working at the Anjin plant, while a big number of Lebanese nationals were working at the DMC.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished