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Isdore Guvamombe Reflections
Back in the years, when Zimbabwe hogged the limelight after the discovery of rich diamond fields in Manicaland, a resource God and the ancestors bestowed upon this country, there was a lot of hype, hullabaloo and great expectations. Village elders in the surrounding areas were promised manna, they were promised a hodgepodge of community projects from roads, irrigation schemes, clinics up to schools and many others.

People imagined Mutare city and Nyanyadzi growing to the size of Harare, people imagined poverty eradication as diamond mining companies promised a multifarious array of things that would certainly change the lives for the better.

Other villagers were evicted and relocated for the country to benefit.

But almost a decade after mining started, the villagers and all and sundry are very disappointed. Nothing, and virtually nothing, beneficial was implemented. Zimbabwe was milked dry by companies we all trusted and supported. Zimbabwe was taken for a ride.

Zimbabwe was abused, cheated and assaulted through a myriad corrupt activities, pilferage and underhand dealings by especially two companies, ANJIN and Jinan. Back in the village, in the land of milk, honey and dust of Guruve, a friend who steals from you is not good at all. He is an enemy.

Admittedly, Government officials in charge of that sector slept on duty to unforgivable proportions. It is not only unthinkable but bizarre and mischievous to fail, for over a decade, to detect such cheating on a national resource until the country loses $15 billion.

Thank God, the Government awakened from a huge slumber with meteoric anger and used a sledge hammer to stop the nonsense. Typical of senseless capitalists, the two companies reacted by going to court so that they be allowed to continue looting our diamonds. It was mischief and greed. Fortunately the judiciary system was resolute and national duty conscious.

The current situation in the diamond mining sector has exposed a number of problems, one of them being lack of mechanisms to control diamond mining companies operating in Zimbabwe.

Companies like ANJIN and Jinan took advantage of legislative imperfections and corruption and in the end, abused Zimbabwe’s confidence and, according to President Mugabe, there were grave violations leading to diamond losses worth $15 billion.

Because of such dishonesty, other diamond miners have been made to suffer. Their actions have attracted the wrath of the Government of Zimbabwe and caused a paradigm shift in diamond mining policy.

The ongoing revolutionary reform that has culminated in the creation of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company is, of course, a positive step that has been done to improve the situation.

Zimbabwe should in the future treat further cooperation with partners who have tarnished their reputation and abused its trust with great caution.

In this situation it is sensible to start looking for more reliable partners with international reputation and those that do not only have appropriate technical ability but are ready to work in compliance with local legislation on a mutually beneficial basis.

The Ministry of Mines should stake on reliability of a new partner instead of its “investing in promises with shadow schemes”.

The full import of it is that there are many reputable diamond mining companies, with professionalism, dignity and an image to protect that can be awarded contracts or joint ventures to mine in Zimbabwe.

As a country we should not be desperate as to worship thieves. Let us look wide and far for partners. Let us take our time. Even among BRICS countries there are better and more experienced and reputable companies that can give a better return for our finite natural resources.