via Zimbabwe gets Dubai diamond cash, auctions to continue with new broker | The Source May 23, 2014
Zimbabwe has finally received full payment for diamond auctions conducted in Dubai in March and is lining up more sales in the emirate, Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa said on Friday, but the government is looking for alternative brokers after those who facilitated the UAE trades reportedly held onto payments.
Earlier this month, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told state media that the Dubai Diamond Exchange “had failed the test” following its inability to timeously remit payment of proceeds from the March auctions.
But Chidhakwa told journalists on the sidelines of the annual Chamber of Mines general meeting in Victoria Falls, that government will continue gem auctions in Dubai, which President Robert Mugabe visited in April.
He, however, did not say when the next Dubai auction would be held, saying government was still assessing current levels of production before fixing dates.
“We are reconsidering the facilitator because we have problems with the facilitator. We have no problems with the Dubai auction floors. We have used them for many years, but when you have a facilitator who doesn’t do a good job, you don’t then condemn the floor,” Chidhakwa said, when asked if the Dubai debacle meant a return to Antwerp.
He, however, said government could use facilitators in Antwerp for the Dubai auctions.
Almost 400,000 carats were sold in a maiden auction at the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE), with Global Diamond Tenders facilitating the trade.
COMMENTS
I wish I could jump up and down with merriment to this “great” news, only it’s monkey business. We have given the monkey a wrench to repair our plumbing problems. One, the “honorable” ministers, mine and finance, are celebrating something that is not economic news at all. Imagine Botswana splashing the sale of diamonds in its main newspaper as a great milestone. The ululation and backslapping by these clowns only goes to show how desperate they are. Two, we should be, by now choosing and picking who we are selling our diamonds to, and getting a top dollar to our mineral resources rather than waiting for one source, which is taking all the advantage and paying us pittance because they know we have very limited alternative trading partners for our mineral wealth and we are desperate. Stupid. Three, the money received will be pocketed by the corrupt and powerful. Idiots. Zimbabwe, there is no room or need for us to celebrate from this apparatus to further our suffering. The corrupt have more money and reason to hang on to power. Let’s drop them and refuse to be used.
Now let me see what will the Goverment’s shopping list be like
1- posh cars for MP’s (make Temba happy)
2- President’s new eyes (that hospital bill gotta be paid)
3- Piggy bank for President’s next trip.
4- Maybe a bonus for Joyce (for keeping the Presidential seat warm while he was out)
I thought the current diamond stock pile was to be used for collateral on the loans we are acquiring. Why are we selling them on the diamond market. I am confused by the different policies.
True the cash has already disappeared
Sad
So according to the minister, the country has used the Dubai Diamond Exchange for years? Where is the money from those sales?
“How much is your cut mudhara!”
The nation begs for answers here. There is clearly wheeler dealing happening with the diamonds transactions from Marange fields. At established markets in Antwerp known suppliers dispose their parcels of diamonds at a premium price that is above the auction floor price. The premium price accrues to established suppliers. Murowa mines through its holding company Rio Tinto group, for example, gets this premium price for its diamonds on the Antwerp market. Of course it is done in two ways: a) by establishing a direct link with the manufacturer or diamond cutters and b) waiting to dispose when the market is not in a glut; that means when the supply of diamonds is low. In both cases the sales are done directly to the diamond cutters circumventing the middlemen who pocket something in the order of up to 10% per every transaction anyway. In fact Rio Tinto, through Murowa is amenable to facilitating this disposal arrangement and has indicated such to the government of Zimbabwe. Such arrangements are the order of the day on diamond auction floors that they pass for public knowledge. Yet this is presented to us the gullible public as if it is elusive when it comes to the Zimbabwean government diamond parcels. There is not an iota of doubt that the officials and the chain of people (that includes the third most scrupulous intelligence organisation on the continent in the CIO) charged with the disposal of Zimbabwe diamonds are in the know of this practice. In fact reports have been generated on the issue direct to president Mugabe concerning this window and offer. The decision to move the diamond sales to Dubai was also based on a due diligence that was corroborated by the CIO. Yet no prudence in decisions ever comes out of such work and meanwhile people are being fed ridiculous distortions of the truth.
The questions that beg for answers are simple here. Who is personally benefiting from these arrangements that are atypical to the disposal of diamonds by well established sellers like Zimbabwe that account for close on 5% of the world supply market? Is it Mugabe himself and his family or it is minister Chidhakwa who is a relation of the former anyway? Is it someone else apart from the above?
How much is their cut or kick back in these deals?
so how many carats were sold and at what price ? unless there is transparency there was obviously monkey business – this is what we have come to expect from ZANU PF !! – all carats sold at USD 100 per carat and only 3 USD comes back to Zimbabwe – in modern accountancy this is called transfer pricing.