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Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
President Mugabe has said former Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation chair Mr Godwills Masimirembwa did not receive a US$6 million bribe from a Ghanaian firm that wanted to dig for diamonds in Marange.
In an interview with ZBCTV to mark his 90th birthday aired last night, President Mugabe said the Ghanaian firm’s executive lied to Government.

“I was persuaded to allow Ghanaians zvichinzi, aah! vane capacity. One of them was said to be the owner of a bank,” said President Mugabe.

“Twakatinyepera twuvakomana itwotwo. You see, liars. In the meantime they did not bring any money at all. Even iya yataiti yakatorwa naMasimirembwa. No! They had given the story kuti they had brought some money. Was it US$5 million or US$6 million, yakatorwa?

“They were busy here smuggling gold and selling it vachitova nearrangement neSouth African group and that is why one of the two was arrested.

“The other one pleaded innocent and said he was ignorant. He was not related to the one that was arrested. Kutinyepera. That the one who was arrested is a brother except that baba ndovakasiyana chete.

“Now we discover they did not bring anything, we discover that he does not own a bank he claimed he had.

“Yes, he was a director in a bank, Ecobank in Ghana, but he does not own it. Takamuti come now zvikanzi mapurisa anoda kundisunga.

Vanokusungirei? You are protected. The lies he has told.”

President Mugabe said Government was reorganising the diamond sector to ensure that only one or two companies would operate in thecountry.

“In fact, we are reorganising the diamond industry so that we create one or just two companies not more than that, like we have in South Africa, in Botswana, Namibia, Angola. You do not have multiplicity of companies doing diamonds.

“It is just one or two and the State plus a partner if we want one from outside. A partner who is reliable, who has also capacity from the point of view of technology as indeed also from the point of view of investment capital,” he said.

“Then (we will) look at areas that have been explored that we can study and where we can establish new mines. But gold is easier, easier from the point of view of alluvial mining.”