During the tenure of the Inclusive Government of February 2009 to July 2013, President Robert Mugabe was repeatedly informed on the high-level shenanigans that were part of a stealth and deliberate conspiracy to rob Zimbabweans of their natural endowments in diamonds at Chiadzwa. In fact, then Finance minister Tendai Biti, even attempted to lead a Parliamentary delegation for an on-site ministerial audit at the diamond fields, but all in vain. The arrogance and defiance shown by the then Mines and Mining Development minister Obert Mpofu, with the support of Mugabe, was so blatant it was impossible to even get him to attend Parliamentary Committee meetings to discuss the subject. Mpofu was even dragged through litigation by Canadile Miners Deputy chairman Lovemore Kurotwi, who accused him of soliciting a $10 million bribe from Core Mining and Minerals company.
BY Welshman Ncube
The daylight robbery was evident in that most, if not all, diamond mines in Manicaland region had one form or another of military or Zanu PF crony connection. Only at one solitary time did Mugabe accuse former Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation boss Goodwills Masimirembwa of diamond corruption exposed by Ghanaian businessman William Ato Essien, a member of Gye Nyame consortium. Nothing became of this public accusation. Multi-millionaire Robert Mhlanga, chairperson of Mbada Diamonds, one of the biggest mining companies operating at Marange, was alleged to have gone on a shopping spree of high value real estate in Ballito, Durban and Sandton, Johannesburg. Mhlanga is said to be a confidant and former personal pilot of Mugabe.
I could go on without end reciting the painful tales of how diamond scandal after scandal was in the headlines, yet Mugabe was largely silent. His spin doctors like George Charamba and Professor Jonathan Moyo revved up emotions against the MDCs and civil society on the basis that sanctions against Zimbabwe did not allow for transparent diamond marketing. Former Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono attempted to pull the wool over our faces by pretending to preside over “open diamond auctions” in Harare to dupe Zimbabwean sympathisers in the Kimberley Process. This process had reasons to worry because the world had witnessed how blood diamonds caused havoc in Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a report entitled, Conflict Diamonds, The Kimberley Process and the Loopholes that Persist by Paul D Scott; chairperson, international advisory council, it is stated that “Robert Mugabe and his security forces are directly linked to poor working conditions and abuses of internationally recognised human rights standards dating back to the DRC war. This ‘social consciousness’ explains why Farai Maguwu of Mutare Centre for Research and Development, an organisation with an interest in research and advocacy around the issues of diamond mining in Marange, was arrested repeatedly for his contacts with Kimberley Process monitor Abbey Chikane on evidence of alleged military abuses.”
In Zimbabwe, a month never passes without one of Mugabe’s cronies flaunting his wealth. In fact, the president’s coterie of erstwhile cronies in the elite “sticky fingers club” have accumulated so much wealth that they have become a law unto themselves. Unlike all other political parties, Zanu PF never runs short of resources to host elaborate “meet-the-people” tours, all patronised by the “diamond club” members ever so quick to make donations.
This is amidst the grinding poverty, drought and infrastructure dilapidation the rest of Zimbabweans are subjected to.
No doubt Zimbabweans at home and the world over are exasperated by Mugabe’s admission that indeed 15 billion dollars’ worth of diamond revenue was Nicodemously spirited out of Zimbabwe by diamond companies. If one puts this allegation against the prism of IMF’s demand for accountability, the tax department’s desperate search for revenue and of course, the country’s cry for help to mitigate drought, you can only conclude that the old man has lost control. His lieutenants make noise about ZimAsset, as some choke foreign companies by demanding “indigenous shareholding” so as to finance social projects. Why go through this painful process instead of just recovering our money?
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The MDC demands that a proper audit by an independent team of experts be done in order to determine the quantum of pillaging of these diamond resources. All the companies in Marange are known, as are their boards of directors. We should not be hoodwinked into believing that the new Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa is committed to unearthing the rot by merely “closing” the companies. Zimbabwe is desperate for resources to re-start our stagnant economy, so those culprits who smuggled out the $15 billion should be brought to book without further delays. It is no longer enough just to talk about it.
We have always said the Mugabe regime is not transparent, preferring opaque systems that blur the dividing line between State and party. Our philosophy of devolution has accumulated capital even in Manicaland where Zanu PF apologists like Christopher Mushowe, Hlanganiso Matangaidze and Mandi Chimene are on record questioning the value-addition of diamond resources. Even the so-called community share ownership schemes that former Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere trumpeted so loudly, have come unstuck in Marange. Thus, from the side of MDC, the answer does not lie in accusations and counter accusations. Zimbabwe has enough expertise in international audit companies; not to mention the Kimberly Process itself, to unearth the diamond smuggling rot. It is now up to us as leaders of political parties, to inspire the nation for a massive campaign to force the ruling party to bring back our $15 billion.
l Welshman Ncube is the president of MDC
