By Alex Bell
02 March 2010
An independent monitor ordered by the international diamond trade watchdog the Kimberley Process, has arrived in Zimbabwe, to determine if human rights standards are being met at the controversial Chiadzwa fields.
The Kimberley Process, which has been tasked with ending the global trade in ‘blood diamonds,’ has given Zimbabwe until June to fall in line with international trade standards. The move was in place of the country’s widely supported ban from trade over abuses at the Chiadzwa diamond fields where the military’s brutal control in the name of the state is still ongoing. But the Kimberley Process refused to ban the country, hiding behind an excuse that Zimbabwe’s diamonds are not ‘blood diamonds.’ Instead Zimbabwe has been ordered to follow a set of guidelines approved by the Kimberley Process to attempt to bring the country back in line with international standards.
The guidelines include the demilitarisation of the diamond fields, which has not happened, with rights groups reporting that there is still strict military control of Chiadzwa and the villagers there. According to the guidelines there is also supposed to be an independent monitor in place to oversee the sale of all stones from Chiadzwa. Abbey Chikane, the head of the South African Diamond Board and a former Chairman of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, was finally appointed as a monitor for the diamond fields after four months of fighting over a suitable candidate.
Chikane arrived on Monday, and was expected to visit the Marange fields in the east of the country on Tuesday, the state-run Herald newspaper reported. Chikane has reportedly already met with mining ministry officials, as well as representatives of Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners, the firms given state authorisation to mine the diamond fields.
Chikane’s arrival comes days after Mines Minister Obert Mpofu warned that Zimbabwe will sell diamonds without Kimberley Process certification (KP)
should the watchdog rule that efforts to comply with its standards are inadequate. Mpofu’s threats echo comments made by Robert Mugabe about two weeks ago, when he also threatened to withdraw from the Kimberley Process.
“If the KP is unsatisfied with our efforts and wants to be difficult saying that we have failed to comply with their requirements... we will not lose sleep, but rather we will just pull put and not lose anything,” Mpofu said, while addressing the Bulawayo Press Club last Friday evening.
“The KP does not own the diamond trade markets. Zimbabwe will pull out of the KP and sell its diamonds to those markets,” he said.
Meanwhile Mpofu has also denied allegations of corruption involving diamonds saying the claims were coming from ‘detractors’ bent on destroying his political career. The Mines Minister has been singled out as one of the senior government officials involved in the plunder of diamonds from Chiadzwa, which are still being airflifted out of the zone with no authorisation from the Kimberley Process. Last month Mpofu was accompanied by police officers to the Reserve Bank to retrieve almost 30kgs of diamonds from Chiadzwa. This was carried out in defiance of a Supreme Court order in the ownership wrangle between the lawful mining concession holders, African Consolidated Resources (ACR) and the government.
The order said the diamonds should be secured in the vaults of the Reserve
Bank, but they were swiftly removed by Mpofu. According to Voice of America (VOA), those diamonds have since been returned following threats by Supreme Court Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku who also ordered mining operations in Chiadzwa to cease.
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