Harare - Obert Mpofu, mines minister, misled the Zimbabwe Cabinet on Tuesday that the Kimberley Process (KP) meeting held last week in Tel Aviv, Israel, cleared diamonds from Chiadzwa for export, it has emerged. (Pictured: Mines Minister Obert Mpofu)
Apart from misleading the Cabinet, including President Robert Mugabe, Mpofu also misrepresented facts to the Cabinet when he said the KP had approved the sale of the gems when in fact nothing of that sort had happened. Ministers on Thursday said Cabinet refused to approve the sale of the diamonds outside the KP. One minister said Cabinet demanded to see the KP certification first before they could approve the sale of the gems.
We are shocked by Mpofu, said one Minister. He just lies. We never approved anything of that sort because we demanded to see the KP certification first before we could approve the sale of diamonds. Mpofu is accused ot lying in Cabinet that the KP had adopted a report by Abbey Chikane, the controversial KP monitor to Zimbabwe.
The World Diamond Council (WDC) has also accused Mpofu of lying. The KP announced last week it reached a deadlock after four days of intense negotiations and the matter was referred to a WDC unprecedented mini- summit at its July 2010 annual meeting in Russia.
Post published in: News