Robert Mugabe in Parliament on Tuesday announced that the government had selected two foreign firms to mine diamonds at the controversial Chiadzwa fields in Manicaland province. By doing this he is once again ignoring the laws and courts of his own country.

The diamond deposits cover more than 10 square miles and were the scene of a huge influx of illegal miners after the ZANU PF led government declared them open in 2006, despite British company African Consolidated Resources, having a legal claim to them.

Last Thursday the High Court ruled that African Consolidated Resources is the legal owner of the diamond fields, controversially taken over by the army. The company posted a statement on its website announcing the court victory, saying: ‘Full details of the judgment are awaited pending the publication of the transcript and further announcements will be made as necessary’.

A statement on its website this week said they note that the Zimbabwe Attorney-General has stated that the government will appeal against the judgement given by the High Court on 24 September 2009, which confirmed the title of the companys subsidiaries to their claims over the Marange diamond field.

‘Notwithstanding the statement of the Attorney General, the Company is in discussions with Government concerning a joint venture on the Marange diamond field which will benefit both the Company and the people of Zimbabwe,’ the staement said.

Earlier this year, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono said that the country was losing millions of US dollars every week through the illegal mining and smuggling of the diamonds. The fields are sealed off and the entire district of Marange is fortified with military personnel.

There have also been widespread accounts of killings in the area, which has been the centre of controversy since last year when the army was called in to disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters.

Human rights groups maintain that at least 200 people were murdered by the military when top army chiefs started scrambling for the diamonds. There were many reports of fleeing women and children being shot in the back from helicopter gunships.

MDC MP for Mutare West, Sure Mudiwa, whose constituency covers the Chiadzwa fields, said he was not in a position to comment about the contracts Mugabe had recently given out to mine the fields, as he was still studying some of information concerning the companies. He disclosed however that one of the companies was South African based.

‘I am not privy to the information of how they got to settle for the two companies but my immediate worry as the local MP is what is going to happen to the many families resettled there,’ Mudiwa said.

Many concerns have been raised over the secrecy of processing mining contracts. Statistically Zimbabwe is rich in mining deposits, but like so many countries, this is not reflected by any development in the country.

MDC MP for Makoni South Pishai Muchauraya told us ZANU PF will never do things in a transparent manner.

‘I can assure you there can never be a company that is not connected to the regime when it comes to these mines. There is no doubt in my mind that the party has a hand in that deal,’ the MP said.