adminTHE taking over of diamond mining concessions in Chiadzwa by the Government this week is a step in the right direction as there was no accountability in the way the precious mineral was being mined there. People in Manicaland, the host province to the Chiadzwa diamond fields, have nothing to show for the continued extraction of the precious gems as everything was shrouded in secrecy.
Mines and Mining Development Minister Cde Walter Chidhakwa on Monday ordered all mines in Marange to close shop except Marange Resources. The police and officials from the ministry were left there to take charge.
Despite being invited by Government to come on-board and form an amalgamated entity to mine the diamonds in a transparent manner, the miners plugged their ears and up to this day they were now operating without licences.
Some are reportedly taking the legal route to challenge Government’s action but going to court with dirty hands (operating without a licence) will not do them good. Whatever their reasons are, it is our considered view that the route taken by Government is meant to ensure that the diamonds benefit the people.
This is only achievable if everything is made public at the mines. People want to know how much of their natural resource has been mined and how much is being channelled into state coffers for national development. The honest truth is that the local people had been fed up with how business was being conducted at the mines.
Firstly, the resettled families are a bitter lot for the diamond mining companies reneged on the promises they made before transferring them from Chiadzwa to Arda Transau. These villagers were also promised job opportunities at the mines but only a few landed posts there. Crucial posts were taken up by foreigners and people from other provinces.
Community projects crumbled while the miners extracted diamonds 24/7. Up to this date road networks in the province are in a dire state but gems worth millions of dollars were extracted with no one ploughing back to the community from which they exploited the natural resource.
The Zimunya-Marange Community Share Ownership Trust only received meagre funds from the miners which did not make a significant improvement to the welfare of the affected communities.
The miners had the guts of telling the nation that they knew nothing of the money they were supposed to channel to the community trust.
“There is no going back on that issue (closing the mines) because the companies were a big let down to the nation during their stay at Chiadzwa. Their time is up and it is high time our people benefit from the proceeds of their resources. All the companies never declared a dividend to the Government as a shareholder. They always gave excuses of making losses, but how can loss making ventures continue operating, with some of them asking for more concessions?”said Cde Chidhakwa.
His comments are spot on. Instead of enjoying the fruits of the diamonds, the local community was plunged into more poverty as if it were a curse to have precious minerals beneath the surface.
As the Government takes over operations and ultimately come up with a conglomeration that will mine the diamonds transparently, it is the wish of the people that better days will come. The business community in Mutare is in agony as a result of reckless transactions some entrepreneurs entered into with some of the miners at Chiadzwa.
Instead of reaping heavily from doing transactions with the miners, the local businesspeople were duped millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.
They have made several attempts to reclaim their money but to no avail. They are either blocked to reach the diamond fields due to security reasons to claim their dues while the Deputy Sherriff was on numerous occasions denied entry to attach property at the mines.
Up to this day we have companies in Mutare that closed shop because they were not paid for what they supplied to the miners.
It makes sense to close shop and re-arrange the situation because the current set up is not benefiting the country.
Operations in Chiadzwa were done in secrecy and it’s high time the Government demystified the mines and make the public know.
Those who do not want to join others and work together have their own skeletons to hide.
Online Reporter