PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has endorsed diamonds from Marange saying the country was operating within international standards but said there should be transparency in the extraction and marketing of the mineral.

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Tsvangirai endorses Marange diamonds

Comment & Analysis
BY NDAMU SANDU PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has endorsed diamonds from Marange saying the country was operating within international standards but said there should be transparency in the extraction and marketing of the mineral.

Speaking after a two-day tour of the Marange diamonds fields, Tsvangirai said all the companies in operation had followed the laws of the country. Earlier in the week, a pressure group, Global Witness, had called for a review of all contracts in Marange and “audit concession allocation procedures and operations conducted so far to see whether they represent a good deal for Zimbabwe”.

 

It also called for Mbada and Anjin to publish details of their beneficial shareholders.

“I am sure that when Anjin was given a licence to mine in Zimbabwe it committed to follow the rules and laws of Zimbabwe,” Tsvangirai said.

“Secondly, the KPCS (Kimberley Process Certification Scheme) is an international organisation that certifies all diamond operations and if they are not satisfied with what has been put in place, they will not allow Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds…KPCS recently certified Zimbabwe to sell diamonds so we must be operating within the rules and standards set by the KPCS.”

He said people might have their own reasons “to object to anything but as long as we are compliant with the KPCS, I am sure we can mine and sell our diamonds”.

Tsvangirai said the discovery of diamonds was a blessing and the country has to benefit from the extraction of the mineral.

Four companies — Diamond Mining Corporation, Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds and Anjin Investments — are mining diamonds in Marange. The premier visited the homes where villagers that previously lived in Marange are resettled.

He said the new homes should be used as a model for resettlement and the country’s rural transformation strategy.Tsvangirai was on a tour of the diamond producers, his first since the commencement of mining in Marange, after his earlier attempt last year hit a brick wall.