Diamond-sale-raises-graves-concerns

It is reported that officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development on Thursday 7 January 2010 halted the controversial and much-publicised sale of diamonds from the Chiadzwa fields after Mbada Diamonds (a joint venture company between the government and some South African investors) prepared to auction the diamonds. The reason for the aborted auction was that the international diamond regulatory body, the Kimberly Process (KP), and other key government departments had not been informed of the sale.

ZLHR notes that the KP has set up standards for Zimbabwe to meet before diamonds from Chiadzwa can be traded internationally. These standards include a suspension on production and exports from Marange until – at a minimum – effective security, internal control measures and resources are in place. A further requirement is the creation of an independent, multi-stakeholder monitoring body involving government, business and civil society to bring Zimbabwe into full compliance with KP requirements within a specified period of time.

As yet, this body has not been established, and neither have the other conditions been met.

Further to that, there has been neither a complete demilitarization of the Chiadzwa fields, nor a comprehensive investigation into the role of the Zimbabwe National Army, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and other officials in the abuses in Chiadzwa as required by the KP.

With these conditions, among others, remaining woefully unfulfilled, it is of grave concern that an attempt was made to auction diamonds from Chiadzwa. Indeed, the failure to ensure KP compliance in sales of diamonds from Chiadzwa leads one to ponder at the manner in which private sector participants for the diamond industry as regards Chiadzwa have been sought by the Government of Zimbabwe.

This is especially so when there remains to date a court order (one which an appeal does not suspend) to the effect that certain claims in Chiadzwa should be returned to the lawful company – African Consolidated Resources – to which they had been granted. This court order has been ignored, if not actively defied.

Such actions raise legitimate questions about the general lawfulness of mining in Chiadzwa and leads to the singular conclusion that the rule of law continues to be deeply undermined in that area.

The entire manner of extraction, distribution and allocation of natural resources in Zimbabwe by both the government and the private sector raises concerns, not least because of the aforementioned rule of law issues. Indeed, the failure to follow open and transparent procedures in terms of obtaining partners to mine in Chiadzwa brings to the fore the real possibility of serious plunder of natural resources, to the detriment of development and poverty reduction initiatives for local populations, the fundamental right of communities to benefit from the countrys natural resources, and attempts at national economic empowerment and development.

In the circumstances, ZLHR demands that the Government of Zimbabwe does as follows:

Respect and immediately implement in full all recommendations of the KP within the stipulated time-frames;

Respect the basic tenets of the Rule of Law – the most basic starting point being respect for court orders;

Immediately establish an independent investigating committee (which shall report publicly to Parliament) to undertake an audit of the firms currently mining at Chiadzwa and implement recommendations of such committee aimed at ensuring that all firms begin mining by a competitive and public process that is rights compliant and consistent with the rule of law and good governance;

Scrupulously adheres to the tenets of sustainable development in the management of mineral and other resources, not just in Chiadzwa, but in the country.