One contributed to the improvement of a nation and the enrichment of a few, and the other to the destruction of a nation and the enrichment of a few.
In the late 1800s, diamonds were discovered in the North Western Cape in a town now known as Kimberley. The hole that was dug by the early miners is now a tourist site with a museum enabling the visitor to review the development of the mine and the diamond industry. After the initial chaos, order was restored and South Africa and De Beers in particular were able to dominate the world diamond industry. Forgetting the politics of apartheid, in general the whole country benefited from the interest in South Africas resource base and that is why South Africa is where it is today. That is not to forget that a few did become exceedingly wealthy.
Jump forward the 135 years to Zimbabwe and the discovery of diamonds in Chiadzwa. Since the first panners went in there, it has been a litany of chaos and corruption with all sorts of horror stories emanating. I am sure that not all the stories have been told, but nevertheless, one salient fact stands out beyond the loss of human life. It is variously estimated that the revenue from these diamonds should be in the order of US$100m a month. I have no idea about the life of the mines, but I understand that a new seam has been found near Chimanimani. In any event, the wealth from these mines is substantial. So where is this $100m a month going? You can be pretty certain that it is not going into State coffers.
Just review the following headlines from one days summary of news from Zimbabwe: Two million people face starvation; donations support Mpilo hospital; arrears to World Bank; no funds to carry out game census; problems in paying civil servants.
AndHow much better would be the following? Diamond earnings fund food imports; diamond earnings rebuild Mpilo hospital; diamond earnings reduce arrears to World Bank; diamond earnings fund game census; diamond earnings enable civil servant salary increase. Do those in charge of Zimbabwe not see the incongruity between the wealth at the collective disposal of the country and the reality of an impoverished nation? Those in charge readily spend 18m on overseas travel; contemplate spending US$120m on a new parliament and other wasteful expenditure. Minister Biti has toured some of the world capitals seeking investment and assistance of approximately US$10 billion from the IMF and World Bank to rebuild Zimbabwe. Perhaps the prerequisite would be to bring Chiadzwa and similar mines under proper control.
In the same days news summaries, Fay Chung asks an important question about the most important challenges facing Zimbabwe. She answers that economics is the most important, but goes on to suggest that the military has a role to play. Unfortunately in Zimbabwe, the military is part of the problem and despite conventional wisdom should not be part of the solution. Fay goes on to express the need for restrictions on imports to enable local industry to compete, conveniently forgetting that over the last 10 years Zanu (PF) policies have contributed to the deindustrialisation of Zimbabwe and reduced much of it to pre-1950 levels.
No, Fay, it is not control of imports that is required, but to create an investment and operating climate that will be attractive to investors, to restore the rule of law and, most of all, create an environment where everyone can participate, not just the well-connected few. When the history of Chiadzwa is finally written, it will be appropriate to compare it to Kimberley and see how, and more importantly, why two similar events have significantly different results. One contributed to the improvement of a nation and the enrichment of a few, and the other to the destruction of a nation and the enrichment of a few. In 100 years, will Chiadzwa have a museum for the tourists or will it just be another blot on the landscape of Zimbabwe?
Post published in: Opinions