dyton mupawaenda
Isdore Guvamombe
On Monday Zimbabwe hosts the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) summit in Victoria Falls with stakes very high on whether to maintain the status quo or bring a new order in the certification system.
Zimbabwe which has four active diamond mining companies, last year assumed the chairmanship of KPCS for 2023 and is therefore the host of more than 400 delegates from 59 countries.
Over the past year Zimbabwe has brought the much-needed depth and stability to the organisation.
The United Arab Emirates takes over the chairmanship for 2024. UAE last chaired KPCS in 2016.
Stakes are very high at the summit at Victoria Falls as diamond producers seek to redefine “conflict diamonds”, a tool that has in the past been abused by some powerful nations in Western Europe to stop developing countries from making big money.
The producers want all counties to be treated equally.
In the case of this particular summit some Western powers have already started lobbying against Russian diamonds, trying to tarnish them, as part of a huge plot anchored on the Ukraine conflict.
In the past Zimbabwe and many African countries have been victims of such Western abuse of power and are expected to rally behind Russia, to maintain a fair trade balance.
Diamond players understand that the removal of Russia from the international diamond market, will give monopoly to the United States of America and its allies to abuse the system and make the diamonds more expensive.
Many developing countries and African countries are seeking to have diamonds not seen from Eurocentric views but from world spectacles, which are fair and compatible to all and sundry.
Discussions will also be centred on the admission of new members into the KPCS, resolution of restrictive measures in the Central Africa Republic, and the scheme’s 2023 Communique, which will be presented to the United Nations in March next year.
The KPCS is open to all countries that are willing and able to implement its requirements. The KPCS has 59 participants, representing 85 countries with the European Union and its 27 member States counting as a single participant, represented by the European Commission.
Established in 2003, following the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1459, the KPCS regulates trade in rough diamonds to increase transparency and eliminate trade in conflict diamonds.
Conflict diamonds are diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to legitimate and internationally recognised governments, and are used to fund military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the decisions of the Security Council.
On Thursday Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister Dr Polite Kambamura said the KPCS plenary session, which begins from Monday to Sunday next week will see Zimbabwe as the current chair officially opening the event.
“A total of 59 countries are expected and 400 delegates are expected at the event. The event will be officially opened by the KPCS chair 2023, Zimbabwe.
“The major issues to be discussed are definition of ‘conflict diamonds’, peer review visits to assess compliance, Kimberley Process Review Reform Cycle, and the establishment of a Kimberley Process permanent secretariat,” he said.
KPCS members account for approximately 99,8 percent of the global production of rough diamonds. Last year, Zimbabwe realised about 4,2 million carats of diamonds from Chiadzwa and fetched US$220 million.
According to GlobalData Research Centre, Zimbabwe was the world’s seventh-largest producer of diamonds in 2022.
Zimbabwe accounts for 3 percent of global production, with the largest producers being Russia, Botswana, Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Active producers in Zimbabwe include Russian miner, Alrosa, RioZim-Murowa and Chinese firm, Anjin, which are allowed to extract diamonds in line with Zimbabwe’s new Diamond Policy.
Online Reporter