After years of being denied access to the diamond fields, the civil society groups were allowed to visit the mines on the 7th and 8th of March. Last month Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his deputy Arthur Mutambara and Finance Minister Tendai Biti were also allowed access to the controversial mining ventures.
While acknowledging ‘improved security’ the Kimberly Process Civil Society Coalition Representatives who visited this week, have conceded that their trip only observed ‘technical’ matters related to production and they were not able to assess the human rights situation nor get a sense of where the diamond revenue is going.
At the core of most criticism is that most mining ventures in the Marange area are owned and run by key Mugabe loyalists in the military and state security agencies. Mines Minister Mpofu has also been accused of corruptly awarding mining rights to ZANU PF cronies and this many say explains his property buying spree.
Hundreds of so-called illegal panners were gunned down using helicopter gunships when the military took over control of the area. The massacres and reports of forced labour practices sparked an international boycott of the diamonds. After several showdowns, a decision was later made to allow limited exports.
Still there is concern that despite the huge production in Marange the remittance figures are low.
The civil society groups have also raised concerns that the diamond mining is disrupting the livelihoods and social fabric of “families that are fenced inside concessions or on the verge of relocation in area such as Betera, Chiadzwa, Charamba, Chishingwi, Chipindiwe and Garamanowako villages.”
Dust emissions as a result of industrial activities “in conjuction with the poor road infrastructure can adversely cause serious respiratory diseases,” the groups said. They also raised concern over the possibility of water contamination for families emanating from the mining activities.
A joint statement by the groups said because of time limitations they were not able to meet the relocated families “in order to obtain first hand information regarding the living conditions. This will be pursued in the near future.”
Meanwhile it’s reported that NewsDay journalist Moses Matenga was arrested in Marange on Wednesday after allegedly being found with a ‘suspicious stone’ during the tour by civil society groups. He appeared before a Mutare magistrate for an initial remand hearing and was remanded to 16th March on a $20 bail.
The case against Matenga is that he was caught on CCTV opening his wallet and putting the stone in his mouth. The guard monitoring the surveillance camera is then said to have alerted other guards who conducted a search and arrested him. – SW Radio Africa News
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