dyton mupawaenda
Leonard Ncube-Victoria Falls Reporter
VICE President Kembo Mohadi is expected to officially open the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) plenary session in Victoria Falls today on behalf of President Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwe, which chairs the KP since last year, is hosting the week-long meeting through the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
Former Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Winston Chitando, is chairing the meeting for Zimbabwe.
Yesterday delegates were locked in closed-door sessions ahead of today’s official opening.
The conference is focused on finding lasting solutions to ending conflict diamonds globally. Already Africa has scored big after Botswana won the bid to host the KP permanent secretariat, which is set to open next January.
In an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, Mines Minister, Zhemu Soda, said VP Mohadi will be representing President Mnangagwa.
“We are here in Victoria Falls where the Kimberly Process plenary is being held. You might be aware that Zimbabwe is the current chair of the KP after we took over from Botswana who chaired previously and as KP chair we are mandated to host the plenary at the end of our tenure,” he said.
“This plenary session will be officially opened tomorrow by the Honourable Vice President Mohadi standing in for the Head of State who was supposed to be here to officially open the event so you can surely attest to the importance of this plenary session.”
Minister Soda said the KP has seven committees looking at various aspects of the KP certification as mandated by the United Nations.
He said 59 member countries are participating out of the 85 with others following the sessions virtually. There are more than 400 delegates in attendance. Also in attendance are observers including the African Diamonds Producers Association, World Diamonds Council, and civil society.
“This is a very important session of the KPC where countries have to converge and share ideas and also resolve issues given that the major reason why this process has to be in place is to look into conflicts that were associated with diamond sourcing and eliminate the source of conflict,” said the Minister.
Zimbabwe assumed the KPCS chairmanship last year in November and will this week hand over the chairmanship to UAE.
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.
The conference will produce a communiqué on Friday and this 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.
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 Global Data Research Centre, Zimbabwe, which accounts for three percent of global production, was the world’s seventh-largest producer of diamonds in 2022.
Russia, Botswana, Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the top four producers. 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