The Zimbabwe National Army has dismissed as false reports that it had interests in Anjin Investments, the largest diamond mining company in Marange.
Mines and Mining Development deputy minister Gift Chimanikire recently told parliament that the army had a 40 percent stake in Anjin, through its Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI).
However, ZDI chief executive retired Colonel Tshinga Dube was quoted by Daily News as saying that Chimanikire was ill-informed as the state-owned company had not even considered investing in Anjin.
“Given the upside potential in mining, we would have gladly welcomed an opportunity to participate in that industry, but such an opportunity is not something that has featured on our radar,” he said.
“We have nothing against those making the claims neither do we believe there was any malice intended, but we believe in setting the record straight. “We understand a mistake was made by the deputy minister of Mines and Mining Development and have no reason to believe that it was deliberate.”
Dube said Anjin was rather jointly owned by Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group of China and Matt Bronze, a wholly-owned Zimbabwean entity.
ZDI is the country’s sole manufacturer of small arms ammunition and was set up by government in 1984 to manufacture ammunition and military equipment for the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
Dube, who also chairs Marange Resources — one of the five diamond mining companies in Marange — said ZDI would not have been allowed to preside over a company with an interest in the same field.
“We at ZDI and Marange Resources, where I am chairperson, want to focus on the job at hand and hopefully people will check their information first before presenting it as gospel truth,” he said.
However, Dube’s claims conflicted with the country’s defense minister Emerson Mnangagwa who said in April during a lecture at a local university that the army was mining diamonds in partnership with some Chinese and Russian companies.
He was quoted as saying then that the trade deals “to a large extent, stabilises industry and eliminates chances of internal economic sabotage.”
Anjin was the only Chinese linked companies known to be mining diamonds in Marange after another Chinese linked company exited the diamond fields claiming that the claim it had been given was not economically viable.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
