Assist diamond probe or face jail: Minister told

The sources, who spoke on condition they were not named, told ZimOnline that Tomana on Monday this week told mines permanent secretary Thankful Musukutwa that all ministry officials should appear before Parliaments portfolio committee on mines and energy when called upon to do so.

Tomana told Musukutwa that officials who defied orders to come for hearings could be charged with contempt of Parliament and could be jailed if found guilty, according to our sources.

The AGs office told them that parliamentary rules required them to co-operate with the investigation and that Parliament had the power to take legal action, including sending them to jail if they refused to cooperate, said a source, who is a senior official at the AGs office.

The sources said Tomanas advice to the ministry was in response to a request by Musukutwa for a letter from the AG to tell Parliament that Mpofu and his senior officials could not give evidence before the Houses committee until the courts rule on an application regarding ownership of the Chiadzwa or Marange diamond claims.

Musukutwa, according to sources, told Tomana that he was seeking the letter on behalf of Mpofu. But Tomana would not be swayed, duly advising Musukutwa to attend committee hearings when asked to do so and also telling him to forward the same message to his boss.

The AG actually used his own example, saying he was summoned by Parliament this year and complied because there is no way one can dodge Parliament without facing the consequences, said another source.

Musukutwa subsequently appeared before the parliamentary committee yesterday but requested that he be heard in camera, a request granted by the committee and journalists were barred from the proceedings.

Tomana was not available for comment on the matter yesterday while Mpofu refused to take questions from ZimOnline saying that since the matter was before Parliament and the courts it was in his opinion sub judice and not appropriate for him to discuss it with the press.

Committee chairman Edward Chindori Chininga also declined to answer questions yesterday but indicated that his committee was expecting Mpofu to appear before it today.

Meanwhile our sources at the AGs department and at Parliament say Mpofu and Musukutwa had wanted to use the letter they had sought from Tomana to justify their refusal to cooperate with the parliamentary committee as well as the decision by Canadile Miners and Mbada Investments the two firms licensed to mine the Chiadzwa stones to snub the committee.

Canadile and Mbada on Monday declined to appear before the parliamentary committee saying they were acting on advice from the ministry of mines.

Musukutwa was the author of a letter issued by the ministry of mines supporting Canadile and Mbadas refusal to cooperate with the parliamentary investigation. A Canadile official handed the letter to the committee on Monday.

But Musukutwa, according to sources who attended his in camera hearing, yesterday sought to lay the blame on Mpofu when asked by legislators to explain how Mbada and Canadile were licenced to operate at Chiadzwa diamonds without following proper procedures.

He basically threw the matter back to Mpofu. He confirmed that the licences were unprocedurally awarded in that they did not go through the normal process, said one parliamentarian, who we cannot name because he was not authorised to disclose details of Musukutwas appearance before the committee.

Mbada and Canadile are two are joint venture companies between state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and some South African investors formed as part of measures to bring mining of diamonds at Chiadzwa in line with standards stipulated by world diamond industry watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP).

The correct procedure was that the ZMDC would shortlist potential private investors to form partnerships with as well as candidates to sit on the boards of the joint ventures representing government interests.

The shortlists would be submitted to the Cabinet committee on investment for approval. But Musukutwa told the parliamentary committee that Mpofu breached the rules when he recommended to the ZMDC the private investors it was to enter into partnerships with as well as the people who were to sit on the joint-venture boards to represent the government.

Musukutwa confirmed that it was wrong for the minister to recommend to ZMDC both the private investors and the directors (to represent the government), our source said.

Chiadzwa is one of the worlds most controversial diamond fields with reports that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government took over the field in October 2006 from British-based Africa Consolidated Resources that owned the deposits committed gross human rights abuses against illegal miners who had descended on the field.

Human rights groups have been pushing for a ban on Zimbabwean diamonds but last November, the country escaped a KP ban with the global body giving Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its regulations.

However Mbada and Canadile brought in to ensure mining standards at Chiadzwa meet KP requirements have attracted more controversy amid revelations that some members of the two firms were once illegal drug and diamond dealers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone.

Some Mbada and Canadile members are also known to have close links to Zimbabwes military establishment that is accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of diamonds from Chiadzwa and offloading them onto the foreign black market for precious stones.