Bennett says Russians & ZANU PF chefs mining diamonds on his farm

By Violet Gonda
22 February 2010

Roy Bennett, the MDC Treasurer General and Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, confirmed reports that diamonds have been found on his former farm, Charleswood Estate, which was seized by the ZANU PF regime in 2004.

He claimed ZANU PF chefs involved with the Development Trust of Zimbabwe (a money-making trust founded by the late Joshua Nkomo in 1989) and a Russian owned company, were secretly mining the diamonds at the farm in Chimanimani, Manicaland province.

Last Friday rights group, the Centre for Research and Development, reported that a Russia-based company, DTZ/Ozego, was secretly mining good quality diamonds, in cooperation with senior officials of the ruling Zanu PF party at the farm.

Bennett told SW Radio Africa: “This has been going on for close to two years. I heard about it a good 18 months ago that the diamonds had been found there, before the Russians became involved with the Development Trust of Zimbabwe.”

However, he said in 1996 De Beers, the South African mining giant, had spent three months drilling and looking for diamonds on his farm but that he never knew they had found anything there.

The former Member of Parliament for Chimanimani said at present around five Russians had set up tents on the property and, together with some high ranking ZANU PF politicians, were mining the gems and pocketing the proceeds with total impunity. “The main chap is a guy by the name of (Alexander) Gregory and I believe he has dogs which have bitten people and they are trying to bribe people not to report to the police and trying to compensate them with money.”

He said what is going on is a scandal similar to the Chiadzwa diamonds debacle in Marange district, also in Manicaland. “In Chiadzwa those are alluvial diamonds buried in the river bed. On Charleswood it’s actually a diamond pipe,” Bennett said.

He doesn’t know the exact quantities being mined on his former farm but said the quality of the gems are of huge value.

The MDC official believes ZANU PF is dealing with ‘mafia type’ individuals with ‘serious underworld’ links, to plunder the resources in the area and generate huge wealth.

He said: “It’s absolutely disgusting. If anybody should be beneficiaries of either the diamonds in Chiadzwa or the diamonds on Charleswood it should be the Chimanimani people.”

“The area where the mine is falls under Chief Ngorima and had I been there or been involved in anyway whatsoever, I would have made absolutely sure that the community and the people involved had a major stake in those diamonds.”

He said in the Chiadzwa area the relatives of Obert Mpofu, the ZANU PF mines minister, were allegedly involved in the abuse of the natural resources for their own benefit. The outspoken official says it is ‘mindboggling’ that individuals continue to enrich themselves within this new political system with little challenge.

Meanwhile Bennett’s trial resumes at the High Court on Tuesday. He is facing charges of plotting to destabilise the former ZANU PF government.

The MDC official’s appointment as Deputy Minister of Agriculture is one of the MDC’s outstanding issues, that has failed to be implemented, since the formation of the coalition government. Robert Mugabe has so far refused to swear the former white commercial farmer into the inclusive government, claiming it’s because he is facing serious criminal charges. Bennett and his party deny these charges and accuse ZANU PF of political harassment.

MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai was quoted recently indicating that his party was prepared to ‘park the outstanding issues’ and go for elections next year.

When asked for a reaction on this, Bennett said: “It’s not a problem if they park outstanding issues as long as they make headway towards elections and towards democracy… and in a manner where ZANU PF can’t release violence or cook the votes.”

But he warned that ZANU PF is trying to prolong the elections for as long as it can and was in the meantime asset stripping and looting in every aspect.

Bennett added: “The biggest challenge is to completely transfer power out of ZANU PF’s hands into a new democracy. The challenge is to remove a kleptocracy, a defunct and a total, total rotten murderous regime.”