The Insider - Can Gono now be trusted with the nation's jewels?

The Insider
Journalism for change

The Insider - February 2010

Can Gono now be trusted with the nation's jewels?

Marange's diamonds saga continues to be intriguing. Last September the High Court ruled that the diamond claims that were being mined by the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation belonged to African Consolidated Resources. The government ignored the ruling and instead invited new players to join the ZMDC.

Last month the new owners tried to auction 300 000 carats, more than the 2008 annual production of Murowa and River Ranch combined, but called the sale off amid fears that Zimbabwe could this time- after surviving suspension in Namibia- be kicked out of the regulatory Kimberley Process Certification Scheme which is fighting against what are called blood diamonds.

Last week the Supreme Court said the diamonds from Marange should be kept by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe until the ownership dispute has been resolved.

This could be a long wait. It took three years for ACR to win its ownership case. The appeal process might be quicker but it will still be a long wait because the government seems determined to keep the diamond fields and make sure they are worked on by a company that they are comfortable with.

Isn't it ironic that ACR has been facing roadblocks for the past three years despite its willingness to work with the government? This implies that there is something about ACR that the government is not comfortable with.

Way back in 2006, President Robert Mugabe implied that ACR was working with some senior ZANU-PF members. This was unacceptable to him because ACR was a British company. ACR is listed on the London Alternative Investment Market but is largely owned by Zimbabweans.

This begs the question: why would the government prefer to work with a South African scrap metal dealer than Zimbabwean mining company?

But more interesting is the Supreme Court's ruling that the central bank should look after the country's jewels. The central bank is still headed by Gideon Gono, a man that the Movement for Democratic Change insists must go.

Only last year Gono was accused of using the country's jewels to prop the Mugabe regime, the military and the first lady. What has changed?

Is it now safe to keep the country's jewels with this man who cannot be trusted to head the central bank despite the amendments to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Act? Or is it simply a question that anyone else is better than Mbada and the ZMDC?

Why couldn't the diamonds be kept by the official KPCS representative in the country, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe? Can't they be trusted too because they helped in the looting of diamonds at Marange by encouraging panners to sell diamonds to them?

What a mess, especially when everyone claims that the diamonds from Marange alone can earn the country enough cash to revive the economy without any aid.

If the country's leaders who were at each other's throats for over a decade finally realised that the only solution to the country's problems was to talk, and they now sit and eat and run the country together, why can't those in government do something to make sure the diamonds from Marange benefit the country instead of fuelling more and more problems?

Why can't Finance Minister Tendai Biti concentrate on this cash-cow to deliver the milk instead of gallivanting around the world asking for aid and begging that the country be declared a highly indebted poor country when it has all these resources at its disposal?

Posted- 3 February 2010

To comment on this story or to send us tip-offs, write to The Insider

Breaking News