http://www.reuters.com
Tue Apr 13, 2010 2:32pm
EDT
* Rules to sell majority stake to locals
suspended
* Deadline for proposals had been Thursday
*
Regulations being reviewed
HARARE, April 13 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's unity government has suspended and
will review rules forcing
foreign-owned firms to sell a majority stake to
local people, a spokesman
for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on
Tuesday.
Under the
regulations, which came into effect on March 1, foreign-owned
companies,
including banks and mines, had 45 days to submit proposals on how
they
planned to sell 51 percent of their shares to black Zimbabweans within
five
years.
The deadline for submitting proposals was Thursday April
15.
"The cabinet has today declared those regulations null and void, and
they
are being suspended to allow for broad-based consultations on the best
way
to proceed," spokesman James Maridadi told Reuters.
"Nothing is
going to happen until the regulations have been reviewed to get
a consensus
on the way forward," he said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
13
April 2010
Police officers in Bulawayo have lashed out at fellow
officers, for
arresting two members of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe
Arise (WOZA),
who were taking part in a public meeting on electricity
tariffs.
The WOZA members were discussing unrealistic tariffs from
Zimbabwe's
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) on Tuesday, in a public
meeting
organised by parliament's Competition and Tariff commission. Two
hundred
WOZA members attended the public meeting in order to present their
views on
ZESA. As the commission was getting ready to answer questions two
WOZA
members, Million and Mavis Sibanda, took the opportunity to go to the
toilets. But they were grabbed by two plain clothed police officers who
searched their bags, confiscated WOZA posters and then insisted the two
accompany them to Central Police Station. They were briefly detained and
thoroughly questioned, before finally being released.
But in a move
that is completely unlike the police's usual treatment of WOZA
members, the
arresting officers were lambasted by their colleagues. It's
understood the
officers came under fire for detaining the pair, with their
fellow officers
saying "we are also suffering from ZESA cuts." Meanwhile,
other WOZA members
marched out of the public meeting in anger over the
arrests, only returning
to the meeting when the two were released.
On Monday, about 1000 WOZA
members took to the streets of Bulawayo and
marched to ZESA's offices. Their
aim was to deliver football inspired
'yellow cards' to the electricity
service provider, for poor service and
unrealistically high tariffs, and
warn them against a possible future
boycott. The march was monitored by
police officials who, for once, didn't
not arrest any WOZA members or use
violence to scatter the protesters. One
police officer was heard commending
the protesters, clearly showing how
angry the country is over ZESA's
appalling service and rolling blackouts.
WOZA has warned ZESA that it has
a month to 'shape up' or face a nationwide
boycott. The electricity supplier
has come under fire for months for power
cuts, high tariffs and unrealistic
metering, that WOZA said is crippling the
country's economy.
http://news.radiovop.com
13/04/2010
16:10:00
Harare, April 13, 2010 - The Minister of Local Government
and Urban
Development, Ignatius Chombo, has gone ahead with counter
investigations on
the Harare city councilors who exposed him for land fraud
as the battle for
control of town house between Zanu (PF) and the Movement
for Democratic
Change (MDC) intensifies.
A committee hand-picked by
Chombo to investigate alleged "grabbing" of
houses from Zanu (PF) supporters
by the MDC is being seen as a tactic by the
wealthy minister to divert
attention from his involvement in a massive land
grab scandal recently
exposed by a special committee.
Despite resistance from council, Chombo
has imposed his authority and gone
ahead with investigating the councilors
amid reports that he wants to use
the probe to suspend the council and put
in place a commission.
Chombo, controversial businessman Phillip
Chiyangwa, and senior council
employees - Cosmas Zvikaramba and Psychology
Chiwanga have been reported to
police for fraudulently conniving to steal
prime council land.
It could not be established at the time of going to
press if police had
taken any action.
Chiyangwa has been fighting
back through instigating police to arrest the
mayor Muchadeyi Masunda, the
councilors who compiled the explosive dossier
and journalists who exposed
the scandal.
Besides coming up with a committee to investigate
councilors, Chombo has
also been allegedly inciting a handful of Zanu PF
supporters to demonstrate
against the councilors.
However, Chombo met
his first brick wall last week when Masunda turned down
his request to pay
members of the investigating committee USD$5 000 each for
the
job.
"Chombo tried to pay his so called committee USD$5000 each to
investigate
us but we said no and the mayor had no option except to shoot
down the
minister's request. This is a complete waste of resources because
Chombo's
committee is coming to just fix us for exposing the land grab
scandal.
"We are aware that Chombo has already compiled his report which
he wants to
endorse through his dubious committee. We also know that one of
the
committee members is a relative of Chombo. We will not co-operate with
the
committee.
"In a normal situation councilors get $10 a day for
carrying out
investigations but Chombo wants us to give his people $5000 for
doing his
dirty jobs on us," said a councilor who refused to be
named.
Contacted for comment on the allegations by Chombo that councilors
are
grabbing houses from tenants, Mount Pleasant councilor Warship Dumba
dismissed the allegations as hogwash.
"We are not grabbing houses
from those Zanu (PF) supporters who are being
paid to demonstrate against
us. The truth of the matter is that everything
is being done above board.
These tenants have been leasing the houses from
council and the agreements
have expired.
"No councilor removed them. The High Court ordered them out
at the expiry of
the contracts. Some even stayed after the expiry of their
contracts. Council
is only following court orders in removing them," said
Dumba.
Sources told Radio VOP Tuesday that the land grab scandal was due
to be
discussed in cabinet.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has also
stamped his authority and recently
summoned the co-ministers of Home
Affairs, Giles Mutsekwa of MDC and Kembo
Mohadi of Zanu (PF) to explain why
councilors who carried out the land
audit were arrested instead of the
people accused of illegally grabbing
land.
http://news.radiovop.com
13/04/2010
08:20:00
Buhera, April 13, 2010 - The state security agent who went
missing after
denouncing President Robert Mugabe and saying he felt used by
the government
for taking part in the torture, harrassment of innocent
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) activists, has been found
dead.
Innocent Makamure had apologised publicly to villagers here for the
role he
had played in the torture and killing of innocent MDC activists. He
said he
had gained nothing by his actions.
Makamure had also
expressed his intentions to apologise to the chief of the
area.
Makamure went missing after these statements.
His dead
body was found on Monday afternoon floating in Mwerahari River,
after family
members intensified searches.
Family members had last week told Radio VOP
that they feared Makamure had
been killed.
Manicaland Police
spokesperson inspector Philip Makomeke said they had not
yet received
confirmation from police at Murambinda Growth Point that the
dead body found
was that of Makamure.
"All we have is that Makamure is on our missing
persons' list. I am yet to
check whether he is the one who was found dead on
Monday," said Makomeke.
Makomeke said there were high chances that out
of frustration or mental
disturbances, Makamure could have committed
suicide.
"If someone is highly frustrated or mentally disturbed, there
are chances
that such a person can commit suicide," said
Makomeke.
Family members who pleaded for anonymity, due to fear of
further
victimization, said they highly suspected foul play.
"It is
unfortunate that these people do not reform. They have killed
innocent
because he had chosen to tell the truth. He had repented and he
wanted to
live a free life but they took him and murdered him," said a
family member.
"We are all shocked because of his death but after missing
him for more than
a week, we suspected something terrible had happened. He
is gone and we now
pray for our safety," said a the family member.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=16127
By: John Chimunhu
Posted: Tuesday, April 13,
2010
Harare - Discredited Attorney-General Johannes Tomana has been
handed the
task of drafting regulations that will be used by the Zimbabwe
Media
Commission (ZMC) to licence newspapers, ZimEye has learnt.
The
move has sparked outrage among media players who fear that Tomana, who
has
been accused of being biased in favour of President Robert Mugabe, may
use
his influence to block or delay registration of media houses seen as
critical of Zanu (PF).
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists
Secretary-General, Foster Dongozi confirmed
the development. He said there
were widespread fears that the delays in
setting up the Media Commission
could be a result of dilly-dallying by
Tomana.
"A few weeks ago, the
President met journalists and was wondering why the
Media Commission wasn't
working. The Commission has now been told that it
has to consult the AG but
the AG is the subject of discussion because Zanu
(PF) says he is the right
candidate while the MDC says he should go. There
is a serious problem there
because the Commission is supposed to licence new
newspapers. I don't know
if this is deliberate obfuscation to frustrate
media reforms," Dongozi
said.
The ZMC held its first meeting on March 18 where commissioners
discussed the
budget. After the meeting, chairperson Godfrey Majonga told
the media that
the actual business of licensing newspapers might take some
time as the
budget had to be approved through the normal, lengthy government
process
before the commission could set up a secretariat and start its work.
Getting
the $47 000 budget authorized could take several months, according
to
sources, who said the parent Ministry of Media Information and Publicity
was
severely underfunded. The Ministry only received $2 million in the
current
budget, which officials said fell far short of requirements.
International
journalists meeting here last month expressed dismay at
the
slow pace of media reforms in the country. International Federation of
Journalists President Jim Boumelha said: "We are very much aware of the
flourish of announcements made by the government. We are still waiting for
the ZMC to start its work. Here in Zimbabwe (the government) continues to
deny journalists their freedom."
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has
said he prefers media self-regulation
as opposed to state regulation.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Own Correspondent Tuesday 13 April
2010
HARARE - Kimberley Process (KP) monitor for Zimbabwe Abbey
Chikane has
presented his report on activities at Marange diamond field to
the board of
the world diamond regulator, which Zimbabwean officials hope
will decide in
their favour and allow Harare to sell the nearly three
million carats they
have stockpiled.
A senior Zimbabwean government
official speaking on condition that his name
was not published said on
Monday once the KP board reads the report it will
make its own assessment
and recommendations.
"Mr Chikane submitted the report to the KP board and
we are now just waiting
for feedback on what the board has to say," the
official said. "The report
we think was favourable to us, and we do not see
any reason why we should
not be able to sell. Once we get the greenlight we
should be able to sell."
The report, prepared last month after the KP
sent diamond monitor Chikane to
assess operations at Marange (also known as
Chiadzwa) where Mbada
Investments and Canadile Miners were last year
licenced by the government to
mine diamonds, indicates that Zimbabwe has in
stock 2.767m carats of Marange
diamonds awaiting regulatory approval for
export.
Harare officials, who spoke to ZimOnline about three weeks ago,
indicated
they were expecting Chikane back in Zimbabwe either by end of last
month or
first week of April to formally grant Mbada and Canadile permission
to sell
diamonds from Marange.
Chikane is yet to return to
Harare.
Mbada and Canadile are two joint venture firms formed by
state-owned
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) and some South
African
investors to exploit the Marange deposits.
But Zimbabwe
cannot trade diamonds from Marange until the KP inspects the
stones and
certifies that they were obtained in line with the world diamond
watchdog's
standards.
The requirement is part of measures to end human rights abuses
and other
illegal activities at Marange where Zimbabwe's army is accused of
committing
rights violations and diamond smuggling.
Currently, the KP
board is chaired by Israel which took over from Namibia.
According to the
report by Chikane, between October 2006 and February 2010,
4.401 million
carats of diamonds were produced at the mine, while 1.634
million carats
were sold, with the remainder held in stock.
The report indicated that
production was split between the government-owned
Marange Resources, Mbada,
Canadile and African Consolidated Resources (ACR),
a London-based company
that is currently involved in a legal dispute
regarding the Marange
claims.
Marange is one of the world's most controversial diamond fields
with reports
that soldiers sent to guard the claims after the government
took over the
field in October 2006 from ACR that owned the deposits
committed gross human
rights abuses against illegal miners who had descended
on the field.
Human rights groups have been pushing for a ban on
Zimbabwean diamonds but
last November, the country escaped a KP ban with the
global body giving
Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply
with its
regulations. - ZimOnline
http://www1.voanews.com
Mr. Zuma's remarks appeared aimed at reassuring the former
opposition
Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe that he did not agreed
with
recent statements by African National Congress youth leader Julius
Malema
saying the ANC firmly backed ZANU-PF
Ntungamili Nkomo |
Washington 12 April 2010
South African President Jacob Zuma has
promised to continue his mediation
efforts in Zimbabwe with the "necessary
seriousness and sensitivity" and
impartially to resolve the outstanding
issues troubling the national unity
government in Harare.
In a
weekend statement, President Zuma confirmed he had received a report on
the
long-running talks within the unity government and pledged impartiality
as
he seeks resolution to the political impasse.
Mr. Zuma's statement
appeared aimed at reassuring the former opposition
Movement for Democratic
Change in Zimbabwe that he did not agreed with
recent statements by African
National Congress youth leader Julius Malema
saying the ANC firmly backs the
ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe.
"We cannot and will not side
with any one of the parties to the exclusion of
others," Mr. Zuma said,
repudiating Malema's declaration. "We will continue
to facilitate resolution
of the impasse in Zimbabwe and to treat all parties
with
respect."
Zuma aide Lindiwe Zulu told VOA that Mr. Zuma, who met with
U.S. President
Barack Obama in Washington on Sunday, will further brief him
on developments
in Zimbabwe, most likely on the margins of the nuclear
summit which opened
there Monday.
Political commentator Brilliant
Mhlanga told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Ntungamili Nkomo it was imperative for
Mr. Zuma to renounce Malema's
statements so as to maintain credibility as
Zimbabwe mediator.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
Tuesday,
April 13, 2010
Herald
Reporter
THE Registrar-General's Office will from tomorrow start issuing
six-month
multiple-entry Temporary Travel Documents to replace the existing
21-day
Emergency Travel Documents.
The new TTD will cost
US$38.
At a Press conference in Harare yesterday, RG Mr Tobaiwa Mudede
said this
would address the challenges of counterfeit travel papers that
fraudsters
were producing.
"The new document, which will start to be
issued on Wednesday 14 April, 2010
is machine-readable just like a
passport.
"This is meant to curb fraudulent activities by those who have
been trying
to imitate our documents. It is much more secure than the old
one, which was
not machine-readable.
"The new document meets required
international standards and will be valid
for a period of six months. The
issuance will take one day," Mr Mudede said.
He said the TTD would be
used in countries that already accepted Zimbabwe's
ETDs.
Mr Mudede
urged ports of entry officials to accept 21-day ETDs until they
expired.
The new TTD has a security watermark, a lining at the margin
of the document
and the national identity number.
Mr Mudede said the
new document also had invisible marks, which could only
be detected by a
machine.
"Having experienced fraudsters who have been producing
counterfeit
documents, we have decided to tighten the security features with
invisible
marks which can only be detected by the machine at ports of
entry.
"We know they are busy trying to produce fake documents but we
believe this
time around they would not be able to imitate these ones," Mr
Mudede said.
He urged Zimbabweans to apply for travel documents from
designated offices
only.
In December last year, scores of Zimbabweans
wishing to travel to South
Africa for Christmas shopping were stranded at
Beitbridge Border Post as
immigration officers rejected ETDs.
South
Africa's Home Affairs department officials said the travel documents
had
been tampered with and insisted that their Zimbabwean counterparts
should
first authenticate them.
This was after ETDs whose validity was 21 days,
were altered and five more
months added and signed for by Zimbabwean
authorities.
In September last year, Zimbabweans with ETDs issued in
Gweru and Bulawayo
were barred from entering South Africa because of a flood
of fake documents
produced in the two cities.
Zimbabwean officials
requested the suspension while police investigated a
major theft of ETD
documents from the Gweru passport office.
A number of syndicates issuing
fake documents have been busted over the past
year.
http://www1.voanews.com
The
ZINASU faction which backs the parliamentary-led constitutional revision
process told the prime minister said that one student has been abducted, 51
have been arrested and 13 have been expelled since January
Patience
Rusere | Washington 12 April 2010
One formation of the divided
Zimbabwe National Students Union met on Monday
with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to seek his action on an alleged
crackdown on students and high
tuition fees.
The ZINASU faction which backs the parliamentary-led
constitutional revision
process - the other faction has allied itself with
the National
Constitutional Assembly which says the revision process should
be led by
civil society - told Tsvangirai said that one student has been
abducted, 51
have been arrested and 13 have been expelled since January,
student sources
said.
Student leaders also alleged threats and
harassment by university
authorities and state agents following student
protests over the level of
tuition fees.
Meanwhile, student sources
said security guards at the University of
Zimbabwe detained ZINASU President
Joshua Chinyere and union spokesman
Wisdom Mgagara on Monday in connection
with a March 29 protest over tuition
fees. The two were released in time to
attend the meeting with the prime
minister.
ZINASU spokesman Mgagara
told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that the
Prime Minister promised
to look into the alleged harassment by police and
the affordability of
tuition fees.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
13 April
2010
Transitional justice in Zimbabwe, which has been described as one of
the key
factors in rebuilding the country, is being hampered by the lack of
any real
reform promised by the unity government.
This is according
to a leading Zimbabwean human rights activist and lawyer
who is facilitating
a series of upcoming workshops on transitional justice
in the Diaspora.
Gabriel Shumba, the Director of the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum
in South Africa,
will join Irene Petras (from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights) and
Lovemore Matombo (from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) in
London on
Thursday for the first workshop, aimed at garnering public opinion
from
Zimbabweans in the Diaspora on transitional justice options.
The
workshops have been organised by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, in
cooperation with the Council of Zimbabwe Christian Leaders in the UK and the
Zimbabwe Association. In 2009 the Forum conducted a number of similar
programmes throughout Zimbabwe, to find the public's desired transitional
justice model for the country. The workshop in London is the first to
include Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and is also the first of a series to be
conducted in the UK.
Shumba told SW Radio Africa's Diaspora Diaries
programme on Tuesday that the
workshops are critical to get opinions from
victims of human rights abuses
at the hands of the Robert Mugabe regime, who
fled to places like the UK.
Shumba said that the workshops will allow people
to state how they want
justice to be served on the many perpetrators who
have never been punished
for their abuses. He explained how key
recommendations can then be passed on
to the government, and specifically
the Organ on National Healing and
Reconciliation, set up to tackle issues of
transitional justice.
The Organ has already been largely dismissed as a
non-entity by human rights
campaigners in Zimbabwe, with some groups even
accusing it of being nothing
more than a ZANU PF 'gimmick'. Restoration of
Human Rights Zimbabwe (ROHR)
and the Victims Action Committee (VAC)
dismissed the Organ as giving false
hope to victims of ZANU PF's 2008
election violence and atrocities. Giving a
joint statement to the media in
Harare last month, ROHR Zimbabwe Director
Tichanzii Gandanga, and VAC's
Fortune Muchuchuti, said the Organ had not
only failed but was guilty of
giving false hope to the masses of Zimbabwe.
On Diaspora Diaries Shumba
explained that real implementation of
transitional justice and the work of
the Organ was being hampered by the
lack of political will in Zimbabwe. He
explained that the same people
responsible for 'scuppering' the unity
government are the same people
resistant to seeing the nation heal. Shumba
added that the same structures
of abuse, such as repressive laws like the
Public Order and Security Act
(POSA) were still in place in Zimbabwe,
despite promises of reform by the
unity government. He said this lack of
reform "make any inroads towards
transitional justice
impossible."
"The lack of reform is making implementation difficult and
the future of
national healing will be wholly dependent on political
will."
When asked what the point was in holding workshops in the Diaspora
for such
an 'impossible' task, Shumba said awareness was an achievement
"critical to
move the nation forward." He explained that by getting people
to ask
questions on the future they want, was advancing their basic rights,
rights
that for years have been trampled on by the Mugabe
regime.
"This kind of process gives people a voice and it will assist the
nation in
moving forward," Shumba said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
29 March
2010
Jethro Goko, the Director of the Associated Newspaper of Zimbabwe
(ANZ),
publishers of the Daily News, has said they are hopeful that in the
next few
weeks there won't be any excuse for not opening up the print media
space
completely in Zimbabwe.
Goko told SW Radio Africa on Tuesday:
"Lot's of work is currently going on
behind the scenes and we are ready to
bring the print product onto the
streets in Zimbabwe. What we are waiting
for is just the licence disk to be
displayed on our windscreen."
The
country's only privately owned daily newspaper was forced to shut down
seven
years ago. The Daily News is now hoping for an operating licence from
the
new licensing authority - the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
Goko said a new
look Daily News will have heavy weights on the team and at
least 78 staff
members, including journalists on the payroll.
Last month, the masthead
of The Zimbabwe Times website, edited by veteran
journalist Geoff Nyarota,
was replaced by that of the Daily News. A
statement on the site said;
"Finishing touches are currently being put to a
brand new and exciting The
Daily News domain. It has been created in
anticipation of the much
anticipated relaxation of the current media
landscape, which is a key and
necessary precursor to any meaningful
democratic transition in
Zimbabwe."
The government is being criticized for delaying the
implementation of media
reforms as the inclusive government has been in
'operation' for over a year
and yet there is still no privately owned daily
newspaper registered in
Zimbabwe and no licenses have been issued for the
independent electronic
media.
The newly appointed ZMC only started
operating in March 2010, after a delay
of over a year in appointing the
Commission.
The ZMC replaces the Media and Information Commission (MIC),
which was
appointed by the former ZANU PF led government in 2002. It was the
state
controlled MIC which banned the Daily News for operating without a
licence
and caused the expulsion of a number of foreign journalists from the
country, after the regime imposed draconian media laws.
But lawmakers
have pointed out that the ZMC will be unable to bring any real
change to the
media landscape, as they are forced to function under
restrictive laws such
as AIPPA. The only way to bring real media freedom is
to repeal all the
draconian laws that stop freedom of expression and a free
media.
http://news.yahoo.com
AFP
Tue Apr 13, 8:21 am
ET
HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's quarterly gold production surged to more
than one
and a half tonnes on the back of increased mine output, the Chamber
of Mines
said on Tuesday.
The chamber said the country's quarterly
production jumped to 1.667 tonnes,
from zero production during the same
period last year.
"By year-end we are looking at between 6,000 to 7,000
kilograms given that
things have somewhat stabilised in the industry,"
Chamber of Mines chief
economist David Matyanga told AFP.
"Monthly
production figures keep going up and down like a yoyo, but the
problems of
power supply, working capital and manpower are still affecting
the
industry.
"However when compared to the same period last year when there
was no
production, this year seems to be better for the industry in terms of
production."
In January, the gold sector produced 519 kilograms,
followed by 487
kilograms in February and 661 kilograms in
March.
Matyanga suggested that the industry could approach the power
supplier "and
pay more for the supply of electricity to ensure a reliable
power supply."
Finance Minister Tendai Biti has projected that the mining
industry sector
could grow by 40 percent this year.
In 2008, most of
the country's mines which were placed either under care and
maintenance or
closed down, due to hyperinflation and stringent export
regulations.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Staff Reporter and Radio VOP
Monday, 12
April 2010 15:41
BULAWAYO - Prices of locally manufactured goods are set to
rise due to the
excessive power cuts that are affecting production, business
leaders have
warned. (Pictured: Welshman Ncube)
This is coming at a time
when the power utility, the Zimbabwe Electricity
Supply Authority (ZESA)
announced on Friday that more power outages were
coming due to a maintenance
work on the Kariba Power Station.
"The excessive power cuts are negatively
impacting on capacity utilization
as companies are now forced to buy
generators that are more expensive than
electricity and this in turn will
push prices of products upwards," the
president of the Zimbabwe National
Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC), Obert Sibanda
said.
"Industry is already
experiencing prolonged power outages and that will
increase the prices of
local goods, as compared to imported goods," he said.
The extended power
load-shedding programme has been attributed to a power
shortfall due to
generation problems at Hwange Power Station.
Due to the power outages, some
companies are reported to be producing lower
than 10 percent of their
required capacity because of the power outages.
The Minister of Industry and
Commerce, Professor Welshman Ncube said:
"Power outages have affected
industry badly, the equipment has been damaged,
production has been low and
costs of it have been extremely high. We are
aware that it is one of the
major threats to industry and the growth of our
economy."
He said his
Ministry had tabled their concerns to the Ministry of Energy and
Power
Development, which has assured them that in the last half of this year
the
country might be having sufficient power to ensure that there are no
power
cuts to industry.
"The Kariba plant will be under-going a maintenance
programme and as a
result we will have a reduced output from Kariba power
station and all this
is in preparation of the World Cup," ZESA spokesman
Fullard Gwasira told
Radio VOP. "The maintenance programme will be done
starting on April 16 and
ending of May 21".
Gwasira said the maintenance
is done in preparation for the June, Soccer
World Cup in South Africa
.
ZESA is understood to be in need of US$383 million to import power and
improve electricity generation amid reports that the utility is owed US$347
million in unpaid bills. The debt has ballooned from US$230 million reported
last year.
In 2008 ZESA entered into a US$15 million deal with ZIMASCO a
local mining
firm to refurbish Hwange Power Station unit number five and
six.
At the same time when Zimbabwean households and industry are
experiencing
persistent power cuts of up to 20 hours daily, Zimbabwe is
exporting power
to Namibia at a discounted tariff to meet requirements of a
US$50 million
deal which has worsened the power crisis.
Under the deal
signed in March 2007, Namibia , which provided Zimbabwe with
loan of US$50
million, is supposed to receive 180 megawatts for a minimum of
five years as
part of a power purchasing agreement between Zesa and Namibia
's power
utility, Nampower.
The US$50 million was meant to refurbish and expand Hwange
Power Station to
levels that would have resulted in a "significant"
reduction in power-cuts
throughout energy-crisis-hit Zimbabwe.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Norest Musvaba in Nairobi Tuesday 13 April
2010
ZIMBABWE requires more than US$7 million to upgrade its archaic
meteorological department to meet the demands of global climatic changes
increasingly affecting farming patterns across the world, meteorological
services chief Amos Makarau has said.
The Zimbabwe meteorological
services director, who was speaking on Monday on
the sidelines of an ongoing
conference in Kenya for top government officials
in charge of meteorological
services in Africa, called on Harare to seek
help from the international
community to revamp the weather forecasting
department that is also critical
for air travel safety.
"Funding has not been adequate. Zimbabwe needs to
engage the international
community once again because we have not been doing
well for the past years
because of our political situation," Makarau
said.
"We are looking for over US$7 million to resuscitate radar
networks, to
upgrade our infrastructure and to scale up training for human
resources."
Makarau said his department needs cash to buy equipment and
to reopen
weather stations closed because of lack of resources, adding this
was
critical to ensure correct and reliable weather information for farmers
in a
country that has experienced erratic rains for the past decade that
have
contributed to food shortages.
The Nairobi conference organised
by the World Meteorological Organisation
and the African Union is aimed at
strengthening the role of national
meteorological and hydrological services
on the continent where natural
disasters such as droughts and floods have
often exacerbated poverty and
hunger. - ZimOnline
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za
Eyewitness News | 3 Hours
Ago
Zimbabweans are bracing themselves for chronic shortages of beef and
pork
following a ban on imported animal products from South
Africa.
The three-month ban has been imposed to prevent the spread of
Rift Valley
Fever.
Zimbabwe's poultry producers are rubbing their
hands in glee. They said they
can now offload 3000 tonnes of poultry meat
onto the market. But local beef
processors and retailers are not smiling.
They have predicted a massive
shortage of beef products on the market and a
consequent hike in prices.
Until now it was not clear just how dependent
the country was on beef
imports from South Africa. But local beef production
has plummeted following
10 years of de-stocking by white farmers.
The
country's main meat processor, the Cold Storage Company, has only 1 500
cattle for slaughter at its countrywide ranches. This is down from 30 000.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Lance Guma
13
April 2010
A Russian billionaire attempting to buy US basketball team,
the New Jersey
Nets, has denied violating US targeted sanctions that forbid
American
companies from doing business with some individuals and companies
in
Zimbabwe. Responding to a call from New Jersey lawmaker Bill Pascrell Jr
for
a government investigation into his dealings, Prokhorov's company,
Onexim
Group, issued a statement calling the initial New York Post report
Pascrell
based his allegation on as 'erroneous.'
Onexim said; 'The
company and all its holdings have always been in strict
compliance with all
United States and European rules regarding Zimbabwe and
we have no dealings
whatsoever with companies or individuals on the
sanctions list.' The
National Basketball Association, who are still to vote
on whether to agree
to Prokhorov's bid to purchase the team, came out in his
support saying no
law had been broken to their knowledge. 'The NBA is aware
of no information
that Mr. Prokhorov is engaged in business dealings with
any of these
individuals or entities,' they said.
Investigations by Newsreel show that
Prokhorov, through his Renaissance
Capital investment bank, snapped up a
significant shareholding in the
government owned Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe
Holdings in 2007. The shares
were bought from South Africa's ABSA. The
following year in 2008 they
purchased a further 15 percent stake in CBZ,
buying shares from the Libyan
Arab Bank. Analysts at the time said
Renaissance Capital was consolidating
its shareholding in CBZ through block
share purchasing.
The saving grace for Prokhorov, as exiled investment banker
Gilbert Muponda
explains, is that CBZ Holdings is not on the US targeted
sanctions list.
This is despite its key role in the sourcing of funds that
sustained the
oppressive Mugabe regime. Current Reserve Bank governor Gideon
Gono ran the
bank as Chief Executive for several years, earning a reputation
as Mugabe's
personal banker. Muponda told us that CBZ was now the country's
biggest bank
in terms of deposits, largely owing to help and support from
the central
bank chief and former boss, Gono.
Kurt Helin, writing on
his NBC sports blog, has questioned lawmaker Bill
Pascrell's push for an
investigation. 'Every move in Washington is about
power. In this case,
Pascrell is up for election this fall, one he will
likely win, he's held
this seat for 14 years already. But this futile
gesture was designed to get
his name in the headlines fighting for New
Jersey against big, bad New York
and the Russian guy taking their team away.
Pascrell knew this would go
nowhere. However, all he had to do was write a
letter and a press release
and he gets his name in the paper, shows he cares
about New Jersey. The
rights of the oppressed in Zimbabwe have nothing to do
with this. It's about
an American election.'
http://www1.voanews.com/
Officials warn
event will bring huge increase in human trafficking, but
recent study
indicates initial forecasts may have been exaggerated
Delia Robertson |
Johannesburg 13 April 2010
As South Africa prepares to host the FIFA
2010 World Cup, international
organizations and local non-governmental
organizations are warning the event
will bring with it a huge increase in
human trafficking. But a recent study
indicates that while the problem is
severe it may not be as extensive as has
been suggested.
"What is
human trafficking? It is modern day slavery; a violation of human
rights; a
crime against humanity; it is just plain evil, and it is
happening - right
here, right now in South Africa. Not only is it already
happening - it is
going to get worse."
If this public service announcement is to be
believed, tens of thousands of
people will be trafficked in South Africa
during the month-long 2010 World
Cup in June and July. But Carol Allais of
the University of South Africa,
UNISA, says such claims are
exaggerated.
"I must also say that these huge numbers that are being
bandied around, so
many people expected to be trafficking, 40,000, 120,000,
are totally
alarmist and exaggerated," Allais said.
She was the team
leader of a recent study on trafficking in South Africa,
although the report
also touched on Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho. Allais
says at present the
number of people trafficked to, in or from South Africa
each year is
currently not known, but that the real figure is more likely to
be in the
hundreds than in the thousands. But, she says, trafficking is a
very real
problem in this country.
"There is enough even from the little bits of
quantitative data that we
manage to get hold of , and a lot of anecdotal
data from various, from a
range of stake holders; it is definitely a problem
and a lot of people are
at risk," Allais said.
The study led by
Allais is the first comprehensive investigation done in
South Africa - it
was commissioned by the country's National Prosecuting
Authority and done
under the auspices of the Human Sciences Research Council
in Pretoria. But
researchers said their ability to investigate the problem
was severely
curtailed because governments in the region do not gather
statistics on
trafficking, and because the team was not given names and
details of
government officials dealing with it.
Up to now, only the International
Organization on Migration has kept
statistics and those are confined to the
cases they deal with. The IOM's
program manager for counter-trafficking and
irregular migration, Mariam
Khokhar, tells VOA that since 2003 they have
dealt with 310 trafficked
people in South Africa. Khokhar says this is just
the tip of a much larger
iceberg.
"These are cases that have been
detected. There are cases that have not
been detected and those must be
very many more we believe, because there is
not a focus on trafficking in
persons in the region," Khokhar said.
UNISA's Allais says there is not a
significant number of South Africans
being trafficked to other countries.
Instead, she says, the study reveals
that South Africa has a problem with
people, mostly young women, being
trafficked internally and is also a
destination for people trafficked from
the African continent and from
further afield, primarily Thailand. Most are
destined for the sex
industry.
Sister Colleen Wilkinson, of the Catholic Sisters of Mercy,
runs a shelter
for trafficked women in Pretoria. She says the shelter has
taken in 156
mostly young women since 2004, and that 98-percent are Thais
trafficked to
brothels in Pretoria. She says it seems that nationals of
both countries
are complicit in the trade.
"It looks like a
combination of South African and Thai, in some sort of
partnership. But I
do not know about all the cases, just some of the cases
have been a mixture
of Thai and South African," Wilkinson said.
As in other countries,
international crime syndicates are often involved in
trafficking people into
South Africa, often alongside other criminal
activities such as illicit
drugs and money laundering.
South Africa has signed and ratified the U.N.
Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Person, especially Women and
Children. National
legislation against human trafficking is at present
before parliament, and
is expected to be adopted before the start of the
2010 World Cup.
Awareness workshops are being conducted in schools and law
enforcement
agencies.
But Allais says much more needs to be done
including setting up a
trafficking information management system, skills
training for government
officials, accelerated information campaigns and
incorporating teaching
about the dangers of human trafficking at primary and
secondary schools.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Apr 12, 2010 11:46 PM | By
Sapa
Zimbabwe's government is proposing a special Fifa World Cup visa to
facilitate travel during the soccer showpiece in June, the SABC
reported.
Proposals included a special permit to allow travel between
South Africa and
Zimbabwe and a complete suspension of visa requirements for
visitors from
the 32 participating nations.
This as concern grows
that the tourism and commercial spin-offs from South
Africa's hosting of the
tournament may not be as high as initially
predicted.
Zimbabwe's
Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi said: "The arrivals have been
revised down
almost to about 280 000 or so, starting from an all high of 450
000. It
affects us here as well".
"But I can tell you, if a major promotional
campaign had been done in
Africa, we would have exceeded those 450 000
figures," Mzembi was quoted as
saying.
It might not be too late, he
said.
"We need to deal with South Africa's ports of entry which will open
up South
Africa to the countries up north."
http://news.radiovop.com
13/04/2010
10:14:00
Harare, April 13, 2010 - Human rights activists have
protested against the
invitation of controversial Iranian leader Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad who will be
heading for Zimbabwe next week to open the Zimbabwe
International Rade Fair.
Human rights activists and journalist have
condemned the invitation extended
to the Iranian leader by President Mugabe,
saying the only "sensible thing"
the two leaders would do is "exchange notes
on dictatorship".
Campaigners against Ahmadinejad's visit say it is
worrying for Zimbabwe to
be still interested in nurturing friendships with
repressive regimes at a
time it should be closing ranks with progressive
governments.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) condemned the
decision by
Mugabe's government to invite Ahmadinejad, who is viewed
worldwide as an
incorrigible dictator.
Said Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights (ZLHR) spokesperson said, "We see the
visit by the Iranian
leader as part of the exchange of notes between the
Zimbabwean government
and the Iranian dictator.
"We are really worried that our government is
still interested in making
friendships with repressive regime at a time it
should be closing ranks with
progressive governments."
ZimRights
director Okay Machisa says they would not recognize Ahmadinejad
saying his
track record of rights abuses was well documented and
unacceptable. "The big
question is who invited him. was there any consensus
within the inclusive
government?" he asked.
Movement for Democratic Change has not issued a
statement.
The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), the largest
journalist
representative body says Ahmadinejad's visit is, "from a
journalism
perspective his visit is a no cause for journalists to celebrate
as his
country and Zimbabwe are viewed as serious violators of press
freedom".
Mugabe has over the last few years sought to strengthen ties
with Asian and
Middle Eastern countries under what he calls a "Look East
policy".
In February it was reported that a state of the art helicopter
training
repair center was being set up in Zimbabwe by Iran. Iran and
Zimbabwe have
also signed several joint venture deals ranging from
agriculture to
telecommunication and broadcasting that led to the
digitalization of the
state controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation's
television studios in
Harare.
Ahmadinejad will open a trade
exhibition set for the second largest city of
Bulawayo on April
23.
In inviting Ahmadinejad, Mugabe's spokesperson said, "President
Ahmadinejad
will open the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair this year on
April 23, said
George Charamba.
It would be the first time that a
leader from both the Persian Gulf and
outside Africa has been to Zimbabwe to
officially open the annual premier
trade exhibition.
Over the last
decade, Zimbabwe's premier business exhibition has lost its
glamour as
international exhibitors mainly from Europe have been shunning
the
exhibition due to the political situation. Defence Web
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Student Solidarity
Trust
Tuesday, 13 April 2010 15:53
ZINASU Leaders Expelled
The
University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Registrar Sergeant M. Chevo posted a notice
at
campus on the 12th of April 2010 that is set to barricade thousands of
students from writing their end of semester examinations. The examinations
are pencilled to commence on the 19th of April 2010 which is ironically a
public holiday denigrating the essence of Independence Day. Zimbabweans
observe the Independence Day on 18 April of every year. President Mugabe has
presided over independent Zimbabwe for 30 years since 1980 and his reign has
been characterised by socio-economic and political obstacles. Health and
education sectors are recovering from a decade of neglect and underfunding.
The current move by UZ administration to bar students who are not fully paid
up from accessing the examination venues from 19 April 2010 is an assault on
the right to education and reverses the gains made under the inclusive
government towards education transition and recovery.
The communiqué
posted on UZ notice boards advised all students that the
final date of
registration is tomorrow (Wednesday, 14th April 2010, 1600
hours) giving
students an ultimatum of 48 hours to respond by paying fees.
It strongly
warned students that the Bursar and Students Records and
Registration
offices will not accept any registration forms after this date.
The notice
further stated that students who fail to register within the set
48 hours
will not be allowed to sit for the examinations. It is alleged in
the notice
that all preparations for the examinations are being based on the
number of
registered students and so no special cases will be entertained.
The
University stated it has no facility to assist students financially.
Students facing financial hardships were encouraged to pursue mockingly
within 48 hours the rigorous and partisan procedures of enrolling in the
disgraced cadetship scheme. It was also stated that no students whatsoever
will be able to write examinations before paying the full fees, or in the
case of the cadets, all mandatory fees. Students on cadetship scheme pay
mandatory fees of between US$73 and US103. Tuition fees are pegged at over
US$400.
It is clear that on this fateful day of commencement of end of
first
semester examinations, university as well as state security personnel
will
be armed to the teeth barring "unregistered" students from writing the
examinations which they have adequately prepared for. Students will just
have two options: to drop out of the university or to defer their studies
indefinitely. University authorities and law enforcement have been blamed in
the past for the heavy handedness in reacting to protesting students. The
Professor Levi Nyagura led UZ administration in July 2007 evicted 4500
students from halls of residence after issuing a 30 minutes notice.
Demonstrations have surged ever since the withdrawal of the loan system
commonly known as payouts in the university circles in February
2006.
Meanwhile ZINASU leaders Andrew Joshua Chinyere 4th year Bachelor of
Laws
Student and Wisdom Magagara 3rd year Bachelor of Science Honours Degree
in
Social Work have been served with suspension letters in terms of Section
8
(3) (d) of the draconian University of Zimbabwe Act. The suspensions are
indefinite. The hearing dates were not mentioned in the suspension letters.
Vice Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura alleges that it has been brought to
his attention that the couple led a demonstration at Bindura University of
Science Education. The two join hundreds of other students who have been
suspended by Nyagura in the recent past. Judging from what has becoming of
other suspended students the fate of the couple is almost sealed;
expulsions.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Written by Natasha Hove
Monday, 12 April 2010
15:37
BULAWAYO - The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has plans to
spend
millions of United States dollars procuring 29 state of the art
passenger
coaches from a Chinese company with the first delivery set for
June.
According to information from NRZ sources, CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling
Stock
Company Ltd, a subsidiary of China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock
Corporation (CSR), is supplying the coaches. The parastatal spokesperson,
Fanual Masikati, confirmed the deal but refused to reveal the details,
saying it could jeopardise the arrangement. "It's true that we are arranging
the purchase of coaches, I cannot give more details as that could jeopardise
the deal. We once gave details of an Angolan deal and our counterparts
pulled out as they were not happy," said Masikati.
Masikati was also not
at liberty to reveal the amount involved. But sources
told The Zimbabwean
that NRZ officials have visited the company's
headquarters in China to 'tie
loose ends of the deal". According to the
order, the ailing parastatal would
take delivery of six types of coaches -
special express hard-seat coach,
special express cushioned-seat coach,
special express semi-cushioned berth
sleeper, special express bar-coach,
luggage and power generating combination
coach and commuter car. NRZ sources
say the parastatal urgently needs of
both locomotive and passenger coaches.
Currently NRZ is operating at between
30% and 50% of its capacity because of
a myriad of challenges. In 2004, NRZ
concluded other contracts with CNR of
China for the supply of the
locomotives, train sets and mainline coaches at
a cost of US$110,4 million.
http://www1.voanews.com
Though ZANU-PF provincial official Mliswa said he has acquired
shares in the
firm, some worried that indigenization is getting ahead of
itself
Gibbs Dube | Washington 12 April 2010
Though Zimbabwean
indigenization regulations were only published in March
and according to
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will be revised, sources
said Themba
Mliswa, vice president of the country's largest black
empowerment
organization, has been trying to take over a white-owned
automobile
accessories company in Harare.
News reports and industry sources said the
Affirmative Action Group officer
claims to hold a 50 percent stake in
Benbar, having purportedly bought the
shares through a third
party.
Sources said Mliswa, also ZANU-PF secretary for land Mashonaland
West
Province, recently harassed the company's directors, leading to his
arrest.
Reached by VOA, Benbar directors, Mliswa and police all declined
to comment.
Affirmative Action Group Secretary General Tafadzwa Musarara
told VOA Studio
7 reporter Gibbs Dube that his organization has nothing to
do with the
wrangle.
Affirmative Action Group members "have not
invaded any companies in Harare
or elsewhere in Zimbabwe as we are bound by
the laws of the country not to
just take over any firm of our choice,"
Musarara said.
He said his organization has been informed that Mliswa is
not referring to
the indigenization law in his efforts to take control of
Benbar.
Political commentator Roderick Fayayo said the 2007
Indigenization and
Economic Empowerment Act has too many loopholes that
could be used by
unscrupulous individuals to grab white-owned
companies.
"There is need to revise this piece of legislation as it is
likely to be
abused by militant ZANU-PF zealots in taking over white-owned
firms," Fayayo
said.
SW Radio Africa Transcript | |
Violet speaks to the
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe Programmes Manager for
Gender, Fadzai Muparutsa. The discussion focuses on the recent reports of
violence against the gay community and their struggle for basic human rights.
Fadzai also talks about how gay victims of violence are often ridiculed by
police officers after reporting an assault; and how even hospital staff mock
them when seeking treatment. The discussion also looks at how minority issues
are not taken seriously by both the ZANU PF and MDC
leaderships.
BROADCAST: 09 APRIL 2010 |
|
VIOLET GONDA: An annual report by the US State Department on the human rights situation in Zimbabwe has revealed that homosexual men and women have been subjected to an ordeal known as, ‘corrective rape’. It has been documented in the report that gay men and lesbians are being raped by those who claim to be trying to convert their sexual orientation. The gay community have long been under siege in Zimbabwe and hate speech against this group is common. Robert Mugabe says homosexuality is ‘abhorrent’ and famously described homosexuals as “worse than dogs and pigs”. On the Hot Seat programme is the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe or GALZ, Programmes Manager for Gender, Fadzai Muparutsa. She joins us from Harare to discuss the reports of the new violence against the gay community and the history of their struggle for basic human rights in Zimbabwe . Welcome on the programme Fadzai. FADZAI MUPARUTSA: Thank you very much Violet. GONDA: Now let’s start with the issue of ‘corrective rape’ – what exactly is this?
GONDA: And has GALZ, has your Association actually received such reports?
GONDA: Now isn’t that taboo, to actually sleep with a member of the same family? MUPARUTSA: Well it is, it’s a very, it’s a very disturbing act that happens so let’s say my family members feel that I need to be corrected – they will get somebody to force themselves onto me in the privacy of our home and that’s what happens a lot of the time. That’s what I’m saying; it’s something that happens in the private space. GONDA: You know this report has raised a lot of scepticism, now does it really happen to both men and women of homosexual tendencies – are women really raping men in Zimbabwe ?
So that's the kind of thinking that’s behind ‘curative rape’ and the kind of thinking that’s behind correcting the situation that’s there. If it’s abnormal for people to be lesbian, or for men to be gay, how best can we control that because there’s the part where you can talk about prayer or you can talk about exorcism or you can talk about the traditional healing, and then there’s the part where people feel they can take it into their own hands and rape, go out and rape women to make them appreciate men. And quite frankly I don’t understand how that makes sense, because if you rape somebody, I’m not sure how you expect them to appreciate any kind of relationship with a man when the first relationship that they have encountered is a violent one. GONDA: I understand that the report that was compiled or released by the US State Department through the US Embassy in Harare went further to say that lesbian women are raped by men to make them enjoy heterosexual acts while gay men are raped by women, sometimes under supervision of villagers and relatives to remove their sexual orientation tendencies. Have you been receiving reports like that?
GONDA: I was actually going to ask you that can it be ‘controlled’ through this way; this so-called ‘corrective rape’ or it actually makes a person even more gay, it hardens them?
GONDA: And you said it’s not known how many people have been affected or how widespread this is. Why is that though? Is it because people are still scared to speak publicly about these attacks because of the stigma?
GONDA: So why haven’t you as GALZ released a report about this?
GONDA: And of course you mentioned the principals in the inclusive government, Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, and we all know how Mugabe feels about the issue of homosexuality but this was the first time that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai publicly condemned the practice of homosexuality. Why do you think the Prime Minister has chosen to agree with the President on this particular issue?
GONDA: What about the fact that the President himself said that he would not allow any gay rights to find their way into the new constitution. What are your thoughts on this?
GONDA: What sort of things do you think you need to do because this remains a sensitive issue, not only in Zimbabwe but in many parts of Africa ?
And then there’s the debate that goes into homosexuality and paedophilia and bestiality and by allowing homosexuality it means that we can then allow murderers and whoever to be free in our State. That is something that is very different. I think people don’t understand that homosexual acts are acts that happen between two people, two consenting adults. It’s not between a minor and an older person where there are power dynamics that are at play. This is an agreement between two people who are old enough to agree, who are over the age of 18, who have consented to be in a relationship with each other, no abuse of power or authority or anything like that and that’s what people seem to think. And I guess it’s the whole uninformed or ill-informed position that people speak from. We do have a lot of work in terms of raising the awareness of people that we live in the societies that we live in. GONDA: Have you had any problems as an association working in Zimbabwe because of the whole stigma that surrounds the issue of homosexuality?
GONDA: Right and some of the responses that we’ve been getting from people include this submission from one of our listeners saying that people are entitled to their own opinion about this issue but the fact that homosexuals are being abused and victimised makes these people, the people who are doing this, guilty. Now what role is the police playing here if at all?
GONDA: And you talked about the sort of rights that you would want to see as a Zimbabwean but for the benefit of those people who are still, for lack of a better word, ignorant about the issues of minority rights, what are you asking for exactly in terms of rights?
If you look at the right to housing for example, if someone finds out that I’m gay and I’m lodging at their house, the chances of me getting kicked out without the due procedures being taken into consideration are very high. I can’t go and challenge those because in any kind of court or any kind of civil court, people will actually look at my sexual orientation before they look at the case that’s before them and then it gets mishandled. The right to education – my parents will kick me out, will stop paying my school fees only because I’m gay or lesbian or my sexual orientation is different from their one, of someone who is heterosexual so my education becomes a problem. I don’t have an education. I could go one, the list is long, I could highlight all of them in exactly that way and that’s why we’re saying that we want gay and lesbian rights to be considered and it’s actually not, we’re not calling for gay rights – what it is that we’re calling for at GALZ is non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I do not want to be discriminated against by law enforcement agents, by health practitioners, by educational institutions, by the judiciary system based on my sexual orientation. GONDA: Right and of course homosexuality is not unlawful in Zimbabwe but sodomy is, so how are they policing this and indeed sodomy between heterosexuals?
GONDA: Have you had members arrested under the sodomy laws?
GONDA: What personal experiences can you share in terms of how you’ve had to deal with who you are in a country and in a society that views homosexuality as abhorrent?
I understand how people feel about homosexuality and I’ll say I understand because it’s difficult to think about something that you’re not used to, something that is out of the norm for you but I think as a nation and as a people, a race of humans, we need to talk about issues of tolerance, issues of dignity and issues of human rights because if you violate my rights, this is me and this is me today, tomorrow someone else will violate your rights and it’s a circle that continues to manifest itself in our societies where we take from a group of people without realising that we’re taking from ourselves and from each other. And if you continue taking the way that we are taking, taking away people’s liberties, people’s freedoms and people’s rights, we will wake up tomorrow and find all of us with nothing and I think it’s something that we need to think about. It’s not that we want people to accept who and what we are but to try and think about tolerance and what tolerance means and what dignity means and what human value means because people throw around things like morality and values and things like that without really starting to think about what it really, really, really means. And particularly people who talk about it from an African context. I am from Africa , I know an African context and our African context speaks about loving each other as a nation of people, respecting each other and yet we throw around homosexuality as being immoral, like people who are gay not deserving of rights. I don’t understand where that kind of talk comes from but it’s the kind of language that we seem to have acquired over the years, the language of hate and we need to find a way of dealing with that kind of hate that we have because it will manifest itself in our societies. GONDA: And before we go Fadzai, if we go back to the issue of ‘corrective rape’, is this a new thing, have you heard anything about this happening in other countries, especially in Africa ?
GONDA: Right, and a final word Fadzai. MUPARUTSA: Well I know a lot of people use religion as their argument for why homosexuality should not be there and it’s quite difficult to talk about religion and homosexuality in that way and just isolate it like that because we are all created in the image of the Maker, we are all created in God’s image. And who are we as individuals, as human beings to judge who is created in God’s image and who isn’t? It’s not for us, it’s not our place to do that. You will find in some cases people who don’t understand the Muslim culture because Zimbabwe is predominately Christian so are we going to go out and say we don’t want Muslims in Zimbabwe because we are a Christian state, now everyone should conform to Christianity? That’s exactly what it is that we are calling for and for goodness sake – to use the Bible – the Bible was used during the slave trade – the Bible was used during apartheid – the Bible was used during the Nazi time – the Bible was used during the Crusades and really that was all slaughter of people. So what is it we are talking about? From what I know the Bible talks about love. We are all created by one Maker, in the image of that Maker and who are you to say that I am not created in my Maker’s image? Have you now taken over God’s position? GONDA: OK, thank you very much Fadzai Muparutsa for talking to us on the programme Hot Seat. MUPARUTSA: You are most welcome Violet, thank you. Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com |
http://www.zimonline.co.za
Monday 12 April 2010
Kimberley
Process Certification Scheme, Fact Finding Mission
By Abbey Chikane, KP
Monitor for Marange, Zimbabwe
21 March
2010
Introduction
The author prepared this report to confirm the
understanding of the mandate
of the KP Monitor for Zimbabwe. The report is
written with a view to
ensuring that the KP Monitor's approach to the
implementation of the Joint
work plan is consistent with Kimberley Process,
Working Group on Monitoring
expectations. The terms of reference and joint
work plan incorporate in this
report provide further details of the KP
Monitor's respective
responsibilities and; the fact-finding visit to
Zimbabwe facilitated an
on-the-spot assessment of the situation. Further,
the fact-finding-visit has
enabled him to determine his approach to the
assignment and confirmed his
operational requirements.
The
fact-finding-mission occurred from 1-3 March,
2010.
Background
Appointment of the KP Monitor
Abbey
Chikane, founder chairman of the Kimberley Process was nominated KP
Monitor
for Marange, Zimbabwe by the Kimberley Process Working Group on
Monitoring,
in consultation with the current chairman of the Kimberley
Process.
Following communication between Mr. Chardon, chairman of the
Working Group
on Monitoring, and the Honourable Obert Mpofu, Minister of
Mines and Mining
Development, Chikane was accepted by the government of
Zimbabwe.
Understanding the Mandate
The Seventh Annual Plenary
of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme met
from 2 - 5 November, 2009
in Swakopmund, Namibia. At this meeting, the
Plenary adopted an
Administrative Decision on a joint work plan aimed at
bringing Zimbabwe's
diamond trade into full compliance with the minimum
requirements of the
Kimberley Process. This follows acknowledgement by
Zimbabwean government
representatives that there have been certain
challenges in complying with
the minimum standards of the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme. The
government noted its commitment to urgently
addressing issues identified in
the reports of the Working Group on
Monitoring (WGM), Working Group on
Statistics and the report of the
Kimberley Process Review Mission to
Zimbabwe that took place from 30 June to
4 July 2009.
The joint work
plan was developed by Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process
Certification
Scheme to implement recommendations of the Review Mission
(2009). The joint
work plan is expected to be supported by technical
assistance from
Participants and Observers in the Kimberley Process. Plenary
also urged
Kimberley Process Participants and Observers to promote regional
cooperation
and outreach in support of this plan. The implementation and
progress of the
plan will be reviewed by the Intersessional and Plenary of
the Kimberley
Process in 2010.
To oversee and support the implementation of the joint
work plan, Plenary
resolved that a Kimberley Process Monitor for Zimbabwe
(KP Monitor) be
appointed. As stated in the Joint work plan, the role of a
KP Monitor is to
examine and supervise shipments of rough diamonds from the
Marange area. The
Joint work plan provides for a supervision of export
mechanism under which
exports of Marange diamonds are subject to Kimberley
Process verification
and confirmation that those rough diamonds were handled
in full compliance
with the minimum standards of the Kimberley Process. The
Administrative
Decision also provides for a review mission to assess
progress in the
implementation the joint work plan.
Although the
terms of reference and joint work plan eloquently explained the
task, the KP
Monitor would like to restate his understanding of the
assignment. The main
objective of the KP Monitor is to support the
implementation of the
Swakopmund Plenary Administrative Decision and Joint
work plan and work with
the Zimbabwean authorities towards full compliance
with the minimum
requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
The main
activities of the KP Monitor involve monitoring the implementation
of the
Joint work plan and reporting on a regular basis, with the frequency
of such
reporting still to be mutually agreed, to the chairman of the
Working Group
on Monitoring with copies to the Kimberley Process chair and
the
Minister of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe. The
Kimberley Process
and the government of Zimbabwe have agreed that the KP
Monitor will have
full and unhindered access to all relevant diamond
production and processing
sites as well as to all stakeholders from the
point of mining to the point
of export, including representatives of
government, industry and civil
society.
On request, the KP Monitor
will prepare an Interim Progress report for the
Kimberley Process
Intersessional meeting, to be held in June 2010 and/or for
the preparation
of the Kimberley Process Review Mission which will be
conducted in terms of
the Joint work plan, as well as a Final report for the
Plenary which is
scheduled to convene in November 2010. The calendar for
submitting regular
progress reports will be provided to the KP Monitor for
consideration by the
Chair of the working group on monitoring.
In addition, prior to each
export, the KP Monitor will examine, at the
request of the Zimbabwean
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, diamonds
shipment from any
producing areas in the Marange diamond fields to confirm
whether diamonds
selected for shipment meet Kimberley Process minimum
requirements and
confirm their certification for export.
The KP Monitor will conduct a
thorough examination of individual shipments
and their chain of custody to
confirm their compliance with Kimberley
Process requirements, according to
the following procedure:
- When the KP Monitor assesses that an export
shipment has been produced and
prepared in accordance with Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme minimum
requirements, the KP Monitor is required to
confirm this on the relevant
Kimberley Process Certificate with his
signature and stamp, and will
digitally photograph the certificate and
shipment. A specimen of the KP
Monitor signature and stamp will be provided
to the Kimberley Process Chair
for prior distribution to Kimberley Process
Participants.
- When the KP Monitor assesses that an export shipment has
not been produced
and prepared in accordance with Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme
minimum requirements, the KP Monitor will provide to
the Ministry of Mines
and Mining Development specific written indications as
to the reason(s),
including any possible means of remediation. Any such
proposed export will
be held until the necessary remedial action is
completed, after which the KP
Monitor will reexamine the export and, if
fully Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme compliant, certify the shipment
and sign the Kimberley
Process Certificate.
After each examination,
the KP Monitor is required to prepare a specific KP
'export examination
report', providing summary conclusions on exports that
have been reviewed
against specific Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
requirements. Such
KP 'export examination reports' are to be submitted
within one week of the
certification examination to the chair of the Working
Group on Monitoring,
with a copy to the Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development of Zimbabwe.
Pictures of certificates and shipments must be
attached to the 'KP export
examination reports'. Finally, the KP Monitor
will perform his tasks under
the aegis and supervision of the Kimberley
Process Working Group on
Monitoring, and will refer any related issues to
this working group. The KP
Monitor may be invited to take part in the
meetings or teleconferences of
the working group, at the discretion of the
chair of the working
group.
KP Monitor Meetings in Zimbabwe
Courtesy visit to the
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
On 1 March 2010, the KP Monitor
arrived in Harare on a three-day visit to
begin the fact-finding mission. He
met Mr. Thankful Musukutwa, Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development. At this meeting the
Permanent Secretary proposed a three
day programme, including logistics and
resources allocated for the success
of the visit. The meeting was followed
by a courtesy visit to the office of
the Honourable Obert Mpofu, Minister of
Mines and Mining Development. The
Minister assured the KP Monitor that he
would have full access to all
relevant government representatives, relevant
diamond production and
processing sites as well as to all relevant
stakeholders from mine to the
point of export. He reiterated his government's
desire and commitment to
comply fully with the minimum requirements of the
Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.
Meeting with KP Joint work plan
stakeholders
The KP Monitor then met with officials of numerous
state-owned entities and
departments. These included representatives of the
Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development (MMMD), Minerals Marketing
Corporation of Zimbabwe
(MMCZ), Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
(ZMDC), the Ministry of
Finance represented by the Zimbabwe Revenue
Authority (ZIMRA), Minerals
Unit, and Zimbabwe Republic Police. In addition,
industry representatives of
several private companies were present,
including Marange Resources, Mbada
Diamonds, Canadile Miners and Global
Diamond Valuators, Namibia.
At this meeting, the Permanent Secretary of
Mines and Mining Development
introduced the KP Monitor and requested all
present to introduce themselves.
He then requested the KP Monitor to present
himself to elaborate on the
purpose of his visit. The KP Monitor explained
that this was a
fact-finding-mission to Zimbabwe to make preliminary
assessments on
operations at the Marange diamond field and to determine his
requirements
for technical support in fulfilling his mandate.
Visit
to Mbada Diamonds sorting facility
The KP Monitor visited the Mbada
Diamonds sorting and valuation facility
housed in a hangar at Harare Airport
(referred to as the hangar). The KP
Monitor was received by Dr. Mhlanga,
chairman of Mbada Diamonds, chief
executive officer, Mr. Rhuhwaya, and Mr.
Dave Kassel, chairman of Reclam, a
company associated with Mbada Diamonds.
The Monitor was also received by a
contingent of government department
representatives most of whom are
responsible for the monitoring and
implementation of the Kimberley Process
Joint work plan.
At Mbada
Diamonds, the line management team demonstrated the process of the
movement
of diamonds from Marange diamond fields to the Harare sorting and
valuation
facility. The team also explained security and control systems at
the
facility, chain of custody, as well as policies and procedures for
handling
diamonds in and around the 'hangar'. Mbada Diamonds operational
policies and
procedures were designed and implemented by Global Diamond
Valuators of
Namibia, a consulting firm retained by Mbada Diamonds and
Canadile Miners.
Most importantly, management explained and demonstrated
company production
pipeline procedures, audit processes, administrative and
document handling
procedures.
Findings:
(i) Policies, processes and procedures
applied at Mbada Diamonds are world
class on paper and the company needs to
build the necessary capacity to
implement them. The company also needs to
inculcate a culture of full
compliance with Kimberley Process minimum
requirements.
(ii) At the 'hangar' there is an area of the sorting and
valuation facility
without cameras. This creates 'blind-spots' and risks
breaking the chain of
warrantees. It also creates an opportunity for rough
diamonds to be removed
from the security and monitoring control system. The
KP Monitor believes
this situation compromises the audit
process;
(iii) There is inadequate security around the helicopter landing
pad. While
the heli pad is in a secured area, it is also close to a standard
fence that
could be ripped apart;
(iv) Representatives of state
security agencies present at the 'hangar' do
not seem to be adequately
trained or experienced enough to ensure that the
manner in which rough
diamonds are handled is fully compliant with Kimberley
Process Certification
Scheme minimum
requirements;
(v) There is no visible paper trail
to track the movement of rough diamonds
from the safe to cubicles.
Management of Mbada Diamonds would like to
believe that the current paper
trail is adequate; however the KP Monitor
believes the system can and should
be improved.
(vi) The sorting and valuation site requires a senior
well-trained and
experienced Diamond Auditor. At present the company has
entrusted this
responsibility to a person who does not qualify for the job.
However,
management promised they will employ a qualified person to take
full
responsibility for implementation of audit policies, processes and
procedures.
Meeting with Global Diamond Valuators
At the end
of the Mbada Diamonds visit the KP Monitor requested a
presentation by
Global Diamond Valuators Namibia to explain its role and the
nature of
contractual relationships between the firm and its clients.
Representatives
explained they are retained by Mbada Diamonds and Canadile
Miners as
technical advisors to establish policies, processes and procedure
to meet
Kimberley Process minimum requirements, particularly the industry
chain of
warrantees. In addition, the KP Monitor requested soft and hard
copies of
manuals, policies and procedures recommended to Mbada Diamonds and
Canadile
Miners. These were provided and are in the custody of the KP
Monitor.
Findings;
(i) Methodologies and tools used by Global
Diamond Valuators are consistent
with international best practice, however,
there is a possibility that Mbada
Diamonds and Canadile Miners management
may receive all the required
knowledge and information but fail to implement
systems due to lack of
capacity.
(ii) The duration of the contractual
involvement of Global Diamond Valuator
is not certain. This poses a concern
on the implementation and
sustainability of the systems.
Meeting with
the diplomatic community
The KP Monitor was invited by the Head of
Delegation of the European Union
to Zimbabwe, His Excellency, Ambassador
Xavier Marchal who hosted a dinner
at his residence for the Heads of the
Missions accredited to Zimbabwe from
countries or entities that are
Participants in the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme. Ambassador
Marchal advised the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Republic of Zimbabwe
through a note verbale that he had
invited Heads of the Missions accredited
to Zimbabwe to the dinner. About 20
representatives of participating states
and regional economic integration
organisations attended.
In his
speech, the KP Monitor explained that he was on a
fact-finding-mission to
assess operations at Marange diamond fields and to
determine his staff
requirements. In response, members of the diplomatic
community raised a
number of issues, including press statements by both
Honourable President
Robert Mugabe and Minister Mpofu that the government of
Zimbabwe still had
an option to trade diamonds outside the Kimberley Process
Certification
Scheme. However, members emphatically shared their commitment
and support
for the implementation of the Joint work plan and that revenue
generated
from the sale of rough diamonds should be used to rebuild the
Zimbabwean
economy and improve the livelihood of its people, particularly
children.
Findings;
Most member countries represented at the
dinner fully supported the
implementation of the Joint work plan with some
expressing concerns on the
political uncertainty in Zimbabwe.
Visit
to Chiadzwa, Marange
On 2 March 2010, the KP Monitor visited the
Chiadzwa, Marange diamond fields
for first hand information on mining
operations in that area before touring
Forbes, a border post between
Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The visit to Forbes
followed claims that diamonds
from Chiadzwa were being smuggled through the
borders between the two
countries. Chiadzwa, Marange is a group of
diamondiferous, largely alluvial
gravel properties in the province of
Manicaland, Zimbabwe. Mining takes
place on surfacial alluvial and alluvial
blocks, with open pits hardly
reaching three metres depth.
The ground is broken with excavators, loaded
into dump trucks using a
backhoe excavator and hauled to the ore bin or
stockpile at the plant.
Geologists explain that the ore consists of
sands, gravels and pebbles with
minor portions of boulders of conglomerates.
All material from the mining
block is processed as discrete batch and thus
results can be compared with
the sampling forecast for the block to check
the efficiency of the recovery
process. It is estimated that an area of 66
648 hectares (ha) held under 4
special grants that belong to ZMDC. The
special grants are identified as
follows:
SPECIAL GRANT NO. AREA
COVERED (ha) % OF REA
SG 4718 600 0.90
SG 4719 400 0.60
SG
4720 2100 3.15
SG 4765 63 548 95.35
TOTAL 66 648
100.00
Based on the geological exploration carried out by ZMDC, 11 889
hectares or
18% of the total concession is prospective for diamonds. The
remaining 54
759 hectares show low prospects, and further exploration is
underway in this
area. The prospective concession area has been demarcated
and issued to two
investors with some demarcated but not issued
yet.
SPECIAL GRANT NO. AREA COVERED (ha) STATUS
SG 4718 600
Demarcated, not issued
SG 4719 400 Demarcated, not issued
SG 4720
1 100 Issued to Mbada Diamonds
SG 4720 1 000 Issued to Canadile
Miners
SG 4765 8 789 Demarcated, not issued
TOTAL 11
889
Aside from the visit to Forbes border post, the KP Monitor's
objective was
to (a) identify the total area under the control of ZMDC in
Chiadzwa,
Marange, (b) subdivision of resources into manageable areas and
(c) assess
mining operation at both Mbada and Canadile mining
sites.
Visit to Canadile Miners sorting site
The KP Monitor
visited the Canadile Miners sorting and valuation site in
Mutare, Manicaland
province.
At the site, the delegation was received by line management and
shareholders
of the company. Overall, the sorting and valuation site
appeared non
compliant with the Kimberley Process minimum requirements,
largely because
their security and monitoring control systems were
in-adequate, and diamond
audit systems were equally not up to standard.
Understandably, the offices
were only recently occupied and some if not most
of their staff had been
recently employed. When the KP Monitor randomly
selected an employee, who
happens to be an employee of the MMCZ, for
questioning, it became apparent
that he had no idea of activities at the
sorting and valuation site, despite
his role as the representative of a
state owned entity.
Findings;
(i) Canadile Miners sorting and
evaluation site does not meet a voluntary
system of industry self-regulation
aimed at facilitating the full
traceability of rough diamond transactions by
government authorities;
(ii) Policies, processes and procedures applied
at Canadile Miners are world
class in theory and therefore need the company
to build the necessary
capacity to implement them. The company also needs to
inculcate a culture of
full compliance with Kimberley Process minimum
requirements;
(iii) At the sorting and valuation site there is an area
without cameras.
This creates 'blind-spots' and risks breaking the chain of
warrantees. It
also creates an opportunity for rough diamonds to be removed
from the
security and monitoring control system. The KP Monitor believes
this
compromises the audit process;
(iv) There is inadequate security
around the premises;
(v) Representatives of state security agencies on
site are not adequately
trained or experienced enough to ensure that the
manner in which rough
diamonds are handled is fully compliant with Kimberley
Process Certification
Scheme minimum requirements;
(vi) There is no
visible paper trail to track the movement of rough diamonds
from the safe to
cubicles. Management of Canadile Miners believes the
current paper trail is
adequate; the KP Monitor believes the system can be
improved;
(vii)
The sorting and valuation site requires a senior well trained and
experienced Diamond Auditor;
(viii) Back-up of footage from the
electronic security system is inadequate;
(ix) Roles and responsibilities
of shareholders, management and staff are
blurred and confusing. The KP
Monitor was unable to identify the public
office or accounting officer, even
though the Managing Director was present
at the meeting;
(x) The KP
Monitor deducted, without conclusive evidence, that Canadile
Miners may be
encountering financial difficulties. This conclusion, if
correct,
contradicts the assertion that the company had committed US$100
million to
develop its operation in Marange.
Visit to Mbada Diamonds mining
site
The KP Monitor visited the Mbada Diamonds mining site where a
relatively
new, but highly mechanised, mining operation was established. The
KP Monitor
was received by the same team that met him at the sorting
facility; Dr.
Mhlanga, Mr. Rhuhwaya, and Mr. Dave Kassel. The KP Monitor was
also received
by representatives of government. At the mine Mbada Diamonds
demonstrated
the process of the
movement of diamonds from the mine
site to screening, weighbridge, surge
bins, sort boxes, all the way to the
lock boxes. The company also
demonstrated health and safety procedures,
operational procedure and process
flows. An elaborate security and
monitoring control system was demonstrated.
All machines and equipment found
at Mbada Diamonds mine site are relatively
new; this includes all mining
machinery and equipment. The KP Monitor
concluded that Mbada Diamonds,
especially when compared to Canadile Miners,
appears to be funded heavily by
a large and established financial
institution.
Findings:
(i)
Mbada Diamonds mine is highly geared;
(ii) The company has been mining in
the Marange area since late 2009 and
has, stock-piled diamonds;
(iii)
Comparing like with like, Mbada Diamonds mine is equipped on par with
medium
to large mining operations in Botswana and Namibia. Management
believes the
company has built a 'hands-free' mining operation;
(iv) During the visit,
security arrangements in and around the mine were
elaborate and highly
visible (see section on security situation below);
(v) Operational and
geological staff demonstrated knowledge of their mining
operation;
(xi) Representatives of state security agencies present at
the mine are not
adequately trained or experienced enough to ensure that the
manner in which
rough diamonds are handled meets a voluntary system of
industry
self-regulation aimed at facilitating the full traceability of
rough diamond
transactions by government authorities;
(vi) The Mbada
team (shareholders and management) is intimately involved in
running the
business.
Visit to Canadile Miners mine site
The KP Monitor
visited the Canadile Miners mining site where a mechanised
mining operation
was established. The KP Monitor was received by management
team under a tree
where he was briefed about the programme and activities of
the day. Apart
from government and parastatal officials, present at the mine
were directors
and management of the company. These included, Mr. Rob van
der Merwe, Marco
Chioppi, Adrian Taylor, chief executive office, Z Ncube,
Deputy chief
executive officer and Gwiba, office Manager. This is the same
team that the
KP Monitor had met at the sorting offices.
At the mine Canadile
demonstrated the value chain and the process of the
movement of diamonds
from mine site to the sorting and valuation office in
Mutare. Canadile
machines and equipment at the mine site are 'work in
progress. The splitting
of diamonds and non-diamonds is done in a container.
Whilst the KP Monitor
was at the mine site, there was construction underway.
The Canadile staff
appeared to be working hard to meet Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme
minimum standards before the next visit by the KP
Monitor. The Canadile
Miners management team has also undertaken to engage
the services of Global
Diamond Valuators to expedite implementation of
minimum requirements before
the next visit of the KP Monitors and that of
Kimberley Process Review
Mission.
Findings:
(vii) Canadile Miners may be experiencing
financial challenges;
(viii) The company has been mining in the Marange
area since late 2009 and
has stock-piled diamonds;
(ix) Comparing
like with like, Canadile Miners mine is currently the size of
a small-scale
miner with machinery and equipment that can be moved from one
site to
another without much difficulty. ;
(x) During the KP Monitor's visit
security arrangements in and around the
mine were sufficient to prevent
intrusion;
(xi) The operational and geological staff demonstrated
knowledge of their
mining operation;
(xii) Representatives of state
security agencies present at the mine are not
adequately trained or
experienced enough to ensure that the manner in which
rough diamonds are
handled meets a voluntary system of industry
self-regulation aimed at
facilitating the full traceability of rough diamond
transactions by
government authorities;
(xii) The Canadile miners managing director did
not demonstrate active
involvement in running the business. Although he was
present, he never
participated in company briefings.
Security at the
plant
MBADA
Screened concentrate weighed with truck on a weigh
bridge
Weight of concentrate from head feed is captured Weight-o-meters
used to
weigh concentrate
Process at DMS double-locked by security
and mine management
Process in recovery up to vault is also double
locked
Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting
operation
Sorting operations are hands free
Exporting boxes use
self-locking mechanism
Exporting boxes locked with two
locks
Access to all diamond areas are controlled by centralised access
control
system
Exit from mining area is via an X-ray
machine
CANADILE
Count number of scoops from tipper into head
feed
Weight concentrate from surge bin recorded again Security personnel
on
horses doing rounds
DMS plant is hands free
Conveyor belts
screened off with wire mesh
Recovery up to vault is double
locked
Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting
operation
Sorting operations are hands free
Exporting boxes use
self-locking mechanism
Export boxes locked with three locks
Access
to all diamond areas controlled by centralised access control system
Exit
from mining area is via a thorough physical search
Security at the
mine
MBADA
Entrances and security exits manned 24
hours
Static security space at 100m intervals
Motorbike units
conduct rounds every hour
Dog unit right around the fence
area
Control towers Watch towers at corners of the
perimeter
CANADILE
Entrances and security exits manned 24
hours
Static security at 100m intervals
Security personnel doing
rounds on horses
Night vision cameras along the fence and mining are-
linked to central
control tower
Visit to Forbes border post
En
route to Harare, the KP Monitor toured the Forbes Border Post. At the
border
the delegation was able to briefly meet the head of Zimbabwe Revenue
Agency
who explained that she was not authorised to speak on behalf of her
organisation.
Findings:
(i) The government of Zimbabwe has
designated Harare International Airport
as the country's official point of
export for diamonds and that no border
gate or other exit point was equipped
and/or authorised to facilitate the
export of rough diamonds;
(ii)
Rough diamonds exported from a border gate or any other domestic
airport is
deemed illegal;
(3) On the other hand, the KP Monitor was unable to
obtain regulations or
legislation that supports this desired situation. It
appears that if a
diamond trader met Kimberley Process minimum requirements
and obtained the
Kimberley Process Certificate, he/she could apply for
permission to use a
border of his/her choice.
Workshops with
Stakeholders in Harare
On 3 March 2010 the KP Monitor arranged one-hour
long workshops with
individual key stakeholders at the offices of the
Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development. The purpose was to outline
individual implementation
plans to prepare templates. The workshop also
provided further clarification
for the implementation of the Joint work
plan.
Meeting with the Reserve Bank
In a separate meeting with
officials of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(Reserve Bank), two
representatives of the bank, Messrs. Manase and Chiremba
explained that as
part of the court order, the Reserve Bank was requested to
provide custody
for the diamonds in question during the dispute period. The
bank received
all the diamonds referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the High
court order
in judgment no. HC 6411/07 for safekeeping pending determination
of the
appeal noted against the judgment. In fulfilling this request, the
Reserve
Bank established a monitoring committee comprising representatives
of the
following institutions:
1. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
2. Minerals
and Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe
3. Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development
4. Office of the President
5. Zimbabwe Republic
Police
6. Deputy Sheriff
7. African Consolidated Resources (legal
representative)
The Reserve Bank further appointed Mr. Jamal Joseph
Ahmed, a diamond
valuator from Premier Diamonds, a company registered in
Belgium with offices
in Antwerp. Premier Diamonds was assigned to confirm
the weight and value of
the diamonds. members of the monitoring committee
were invited to witness
the valuation and sealing of the diamonds. The
diamonds were placed in a
trunk and one key was kept by the deputy sheriff
and another by African
Consolidated Resources legal representatives. The
deputy sheriff also issued
a receipt presented to African Consolidated
Resources. The Ministry of Mines
and Mining Development has informed the KP
Monitor that its team is
currently seeking legal interpretation of the court
order and the
implications.
Meeting with cabinet task force on
Marange production
The KP Monitor met with the Zimbabwean cabinet task
force on Marange
production. The Task Force was established by government,
to monitor
developments in Marange, among other issues. The committee
comprises
Honourable Mpofu, Chairman of the Committee and Minister of Mines
and Mining
Development, Honourable Biti, Minister of Finance, Honourable
Ncube,
Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Mnangangwa, Minister of
Defence, and Honourable Mangoma, Minister of Economic Development and
Investment Promotions.
At this meeting, the KP Monitor briefed the
Task force on his activities in
Zimbabwe as part of his factfinding mission.
He assured them that Zimbabwe
has the capability and potential to meet
Kimberley Process minimum
requirements.
Second meeting with the
Minister of Mines and Mining Development
The KP Monitor met the minister
at the end of his fact-finding mission. At
this meeting, the KP Monitor
informed the Minister that his fact-finding
mission was successful and that
he was able to visit every site possible and
met all relevant stakeholders
in the time frame provided. The KP Monitor
also informed the minister that
he would be preparing a report on his
findings and that a copy would be sent
to the minister.
Media Briefing
At the end of the visit, the KP
Monitor met members of the media at the
Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development. He informed the media that his
mission was accomplished and
that he would be reporting to Mr. Stephane
Chardon, chairman of the Working
Group on Monitoring who, in turn, would
report to the chairman of the
Kimberley Process and the Minister of Mines
and Mining Development,
Honourable Obert Mpofu. The KP Monitor ended his
fact-finding mission and
returned to South Africa.
Agencies and companies actively involved in
mining Marange diamonds
Mining in Zimbabwe is administered and managed by
the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development. Among other issues, the
ministry is responsible for
granting mining rights by issuing certificates
of registering mining claims,
special grants, mining leases exclusive
prospecting orders etc. The ministry
discharges some of its functions
through state owned entities such as the
Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation (ZMDC), a company created by act of
parliament.
Another
wholly-owned state entity is the Minerals Marketing Corporation of
Zimbabwe
(MMCZ). Its mandate is to sell and coordinate the export of
minerals, for
which it receives a commission of (0.875%). It also purchases
rough diamonds
from the local market and sell them to diamond manufacturers
and dealers.
MMCZ is Zimbabwe's Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
exporting
authority. The MMCZ authority is required to keep diamond
production
statistics and other related production and export information.
The ZMDC
is mandated to invest in the mining industry of Zimbabwe on behalf
of the
state. ZMDC operates 26 separate mining companies in Zimbabwe. Some
of its
operations include four special grants in the mining area of
Chiadzwa, which
are held directly by ZMDC. Together, the company owns
approximately 125 000
hectares of diamondiferous area.
Initially, ZMDC attempted to produce and
sell rough diamonds without
partnering with commercial entities. This
attempt, which produced 1 366 872
carats over less than three years, was
later reconsidered and it was
concluded that joint ventures were the
preferred way to grow its technical
and financial capabilities. As at
October 2008, the company was allowed to
sell rough diamonds in the open
market. An estimated 876 000 carats valued
at US$8,3 million were sold to
the open market and a balance of 490 000
carats were kept in stock. Of the
US$8,3 million, US$837 000 was paid to the
national fiscus.
Formation
of Joint Ventures
Following the Kimberley Process Review Mission, 2009, a
report outlining
levels of non-compliance, including the security situation
around the
Chiadzwa and Marange diamond fields, the Ministry of Mines and
Mining
Development and ZMDC resolved to revise their mining business model.
A
decision was taken to consider partnering with commercial mining
companies.
According to representatives of the Zimbabwean government,
unsolicited
expressions of interest from the mining fraternity were received
from
various local and international operators and a file was opened for
applications.
When the government revised its business model, the
need arose to select
potential partners. The simplified version of the
selection process can be
summarised as follows; prospective investors were
selected by the Ministry
of Mines and Mining Development, which was preceded
by establishing "a
special purpose vehicle" that represented ZMDC commercial
interests. This
company was later named Marange Resources Private Limited
(Marange
Resources), a wholly owned subsidiary of ZMDC.
Marange
Resources although wholly owned by ZMDC is a private company
registered
under Zimbabwe's Companies Act Chapter 24:03. The company was
originally
registered as Block Wood Mining and later the name was changed to
Marange
Resources.
In July 2009, two companies, namely Core Mining, registered in
South Africa
and Grandwell Holdings, registered in Mauritius were considered
for joints
ventures with Marange Resources. ZMDC would hold its interests in
the joint
venture through Marange Resources. According to a report based on
ZMDC oral
evidence to the parliamentary committee on mines and energy, on 8
February
2010, Core Mining Resources is a diamond mining company operating
in
Kimberley, South Africa and Grandwell Holdings is a company involved in
the
reclamation business with strong a financial and administrative capacity
to
put in place a fully fledged mining operation.
Due diligence was
conducted on both companies and subsequently the ZMDC
signed a suspensive
Memorandum of Understanding with Core Mining and
Grandwell respectively. The
report states that the Memorandum of
Understanding with both companies was
superseded by the shareholders
agreements signed on 13 and 14 August 2009.
The joint venture for Grandwell
was signed on 13 and Core Mining on 14
August 2009.
Issuing special grants
ZMDC then released special
grants named 4720 measuring 2100 hectares to Core
Mining and Grandwell
Holdings. The special grants were divided in two almost
equal parts. The
companies pledged US$100 million investment in the form of
equipment and
machinery that would be used for building physical,
processing, water, road
and security infrastructure. The agreement also
undertakes to relocate
communities within and around the mining fields. An
inter ministerial
committee was established to oversee the relocation
programme. This
committee included the ministries of local government,
public works, mines
and environment.
These joint ventures have resulted in the formation and
incorporation of two
distinct companies in which ZMDC (through Marange
Resources) has 50% shares.
Grandwell and Marange Resources hold their 50/50
shares in a joint venture
company called Condurango, trading as Mbada
Diamonds. Condurango has entered
into a management agreement with joint
venture partners, with the
understanding that Condurango will be responsible
for the day-to-day running
of the mining operation.
For Core Mining
Resources, a new company called Canadile Miners Private
Limited was formed.
Unlike Condurango, Canadile Miners partners have agreed
to jointly manage
their operations. Both joint ventures have board of
directors. Condurango
has ten seats, while ZMDC is allocated five directors
and Grandwell five
directors. The chairmanship of the board rotates after
two years. The same
arrangement applies to Canadile Miners.
Relocation of affected
villagers
A total of 4,207 households have been identified for
resettlement to pave
the way for diamond mining operations. Total costs of
resettlement have been
calculated by the Ministry of Public Works and
Housing at $11,791,644 (Table
1). The investors currently have committed to
share the cost equally. New
investors in the area will share the cost on
pro-rata. The government has
already identified ARDA Transau farm for
resettlement of affected
households. The first phase of the resettlement
exercise will see 1,800
households being moved to ARDA Transau farm where
each household will get
one hectare for a homestead and half a hectare for
crop farming.
The investors have so far built two sample houses at ARDA
Transau and sunk
10 boreholes. The existing school and clinic have been
renovated. The
investors will install irrigation infrastructure for the
settlers.
Small scale miners
The Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development is drafting policy and
procedures on handling small scale
mining. Among other issues, the ministry
is investigating the roles of each
government department and other relevant
key institutions. It is also
looking at the definition of small scale miner,
particularly size. To date,
no small miner has been licensed to mine. The
ministry indicated that a
framework document will be completed by June 2010.
However, mining
operations by small miners will begin at a much later stage.
Country
internal controls
Mining titles are issued by the Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development
(MMMD) after evaluation of the application and due
diligence on the
investor. The MMMD carries out periodic mine audits and
inspections. The
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Minerals Unit also monitors
the movement of
diamonds from the mining stage up to the export stage. MMMD
and the Minerals
Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) are responsible
for authorising
exports of diamonds after satisfying themselves that the
diamonds comply
with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requirements. No
diamonds can be
exported without the KP certificate.
At the port of
exit ZIMRA insists on Kimberley Process certificates being
produced before
diamonds can be exported. The diamonds must be sealed and
accompanied by a
commercial invoice with the seal number and number of
carats being exported.
There is a statutory instrument in place which makes
it mandatory for all
diamond producers to comply with minimum Kimberley
Process
requirements.
Marange production and sales statistics
For the
period October 2006 to 28 February 2010, a production and sales
account of
the Marange diamond field is obtainable from the activities of a
number of
players as summarised in the table below.
Marange Diamond Field
Production Summary, October 2006 to 28 February
2010
Source
Product
volume
(carats) Sales volume
(carats) Stock (carats)
Marange
Resources 1,363,566.55
1,083,840.36 279,726.19
Mbada 2,005,298.44 0 2,005,298.44
Canadile
346,551.92 0 346,551.92
MMCZ mop-up 531,222.01 525,167.76
6,054.25
Police/MMMD 25,932.88 25,932.88 472.87
ACR 129,031.87 0
129,031.87
TOTAL 4,401,603.67 1,634,941.00
2,767,135.54
Source:MMMD (2010)
Marange Resources annual
production volume, 2007 - 2009
Production Period Diamond recovery
(carats)
2007 494,181.95
2008 460,017.20
2009
409,367.40
Total Production 1,363,566.55
Source: MMMD
(2010)
Marange Resources Sales Summary, 2008 -2010
Sales
Carats
Tender 1 01-Oct-08 101,550.00
Tender 2 01-Mar-09
87,307.09
3,706.63
328,305.01
Tender 3 16-Jun-09
64,305.44
2,445.32
104,260.86
2,005.31
61,028.61
Tender
4 20-Aug-09 17,930.11
30,263.06
73,221.52
Tender 5
27-Jan-10
2,753.73
3,678.18
10,387.95
17,445.83
81,056.81
63,297.66
28,891.24
Total
sales 1,083,840.36
Closing stock at 28
February 2010
279,726.19
Source: (2010)
Marange Resources only started sales in
October 2008. The slow issuance of
CD1 (currency declaration) forms by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe slowed the
export process causing the accumulation
of product/stock pile. A paper trail
is available for all transactions
entered by Marange Resources. The Ministry
of Mines and Mining Development,
through the comptroller and auditor general
is engaging a forensic auditor
to reconcile production and sales figures for
Marange diamonds as stipulated
in the Joint work plan, Strategic Issue 8.
The exercise will include
reconciliation of all diamonds bought by MMCZ and
those from police
seizures.
National Production Statistics,
2009
Marange
Resources Mbada Canadile Murrow River Ranch
TOTAL
409,367.40 302,115.08 57,537.00 121,863.19 72,617.23
963,499.90
In 2009, Mbada and Canadile only started production in
December 2009.
Cooperation and Transparency
In 2009, cabinet set
up an inter ministerial task force to oversee Kimberley
Process compliance
issues on Marange diamonds, to include investment in the
Marange diamond
field and relocation of affected households. The three
political parties to
the Global Political Agreement (GPA) are represented in
the
inter-ministerial task force whose members include:
Hon O.M. Mpofu (MP) -
Minister of Mines and Mining Development, (chair) Hon
T. Biti (MP) -
Ministry of Finance
Hon E.D. Mnangagwa (MP) - Ministry of
Defence
Hon Professor W. Ncube (MP) - Ministry of Industry and
Commerce
Hon E. Mangoma (MP) - Ministry of Economic Development and
Investment
Promotion.
In addition, there is the parliamentary
portfolio committee on mines and
energy which monitors compliance with best
practices. It also monitors the
implementation of relevant legislation and
corporate governance by all
players in the diamond industry. A steering
committee chaired by the
Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, monitors
implementation of the
Joint work plan agreed to with the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.
Other members of the committee include MMCZ, ZMDC,
ZIMRA and ZRP - Minerals
Unit. There is also a committee on border control
made up of the ZRP -
Border Control and Minerals Unit, ZIMRA and immigration
officials who work
with their counterparts in Mozambique.
A
provincial committee chaired by the Ministry of Local Government has been
set up to deal with the relocation process for affected
households.
The Committee is made up of officials from:
· Ministry
of Local Government
· Ministry of Lands
· Ministry of Public
Construction
· Department of Irrigation
· Department of Physical
Planning
· District Development Fund
· Environmental Management
Agency
· Mutare Rural District Council
· Ministry of
Agriculture
· Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
· Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corporation
The committee reports to the provincial
governor for Manicaland.
Security situation in
Marange
Demilitarisation of Marange diamond field appears to be ongoing,
in
accordance with the Kimberley Process Administrative Decision and Joint
work
plan. As resource areas are demarcated and allocated to joint venture
companies, investors take full responsibility of their areas and are
compelled to secure their areas and operate on hands free auditable systems.
The KP Monitor was informed that there is now complete demilitarisation of
areas under Mbada and Canadile's operations. Both Mbada and Canadile have
secured their areas of operation through physical security barriers (fences
etc) and electronic means.
Industry voluntary
self-regulation
The global diamond industry has undertaken to implement a
voluntary system
of self-regulation by ensuring an effective internal
control system of
diamonds based on the international certification scheme
for rough diamonds.
This system includes a chain of warrantees underpinned
through verification
by independent auditors of individual companies and
supported by penalties
set by industry, which helps facilitate the full
traceability of rough
diamond transactions by government authorities. The KP
Monitor attempted to
establish levels of compliance by mining companies at
Marange diamonds
fields. The results were as follows:
Security
situation at Sorting and Valuation facilities
MBADA CANADILE
·
Screened concentrate weighed with truck on a weigh bridge
· Count number
of scoops from the tipper into head feed
· Weight of concentrate from
head feed is captured
· Weight-o-meters used to weigh
concentrate
· Weight concentrate from surge bin recorded again
·
Security personnel on horses doing rounds
· Process at DMS double-locked
by security and mine management
· DMS plant is hand free
· Process
in recovery up to vault is also double locked
· Conveyor belts screened
off with wire mesh
· Recovery up to vault is double locked
· Glove
boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation
· Glove boxes
have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation
· Sorting operations
are hands free
· Sorting operations are hands free
· Exporting
boxes use self-locking mechanism
· Exporting boxes use self-locking
mechanism
· Export boxes secured with 3 locks
· Exporting boxes
are secured with 2 locks
· Access to all diamond areas controlled by
centralised access control
system
· Access to all diamond areas
controlled by centralised access control
system
· Exit from the
mining area is via X-ray machine
· Exit from the mining area is via
thorough physical search
Security at the mine
MBADA
CANADILE
· Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours
·
Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours
· Static security at 100m
intervals · Static security at 100m intervals
· Motorbike units conducts
rounds every hour
· Security personnel doing rounds on horses
·
Dog unit right around the fence area
· Control towers
· Watch
towers at corners of the perimeter
· Night-vision cameras along fence and
mining area- linked to central
control tower
Landing air strip and
security control tower
The KP Monitor visited the well-publicised air
strip that is being built in
the area. The mine management team informed the
KP Monitor that the airstrip
will be used to transport rough diamonds from
the mine to the sorting and
valuation facility in Harare. The KP Monitor was
also taken to the security
control tower. The tower is being built on the
highest point in the Marange
area.
Matter between Ministry of Mines
and Mining Development and African
Consolidated Resources
The KP
Monitor was informed by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
that
African Consolidated Resources Plc, a public company listed on the
London
Stock Exchange, has over the past several years, declared a dispute
on
mining claims in the Marange diamond fields with the ministry and its
associated institutions. The dispute between the parties culminated into a
High Court ruling in September 2009 with a court order stating the following
(as paraphrased):
· The African Consolidated Resources claims issued
to Dashaloo Investments,
Possession Investments, Heavy Staff Investments and
Olebile Investments,
which are within the area previously covered by
Exclusive Prospecting order
1523 held by Kimberlit Searches are valid and
have remained valid since the
date they were originally pegged, and the
right granted to a company that is
associated with African Consolidated
Resources, shall not apply in respect
of the African Consolidated Resources
claims as indicated on Annexure 'B'
(of the application). In that regard it
is hereby ordered that Zimbabwe
Mining Development Corporation cease its
prospecting and diamond mining
activities in the said area.
· The
Court Order further instructs that 129 400 carats of diamonds seized
from
African Consolidated Resources offices in Harare January 2007 be
returned to
African Consolidated Resources, and the Police be directed to
cease
interfering with the African Consolidated Resources prospecting and
mining
activities. And that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
and/or its
associate institutions pay African Consolidated Resources lost on
a legal
practitioner and client scale, the one paying the other to be
absolved.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development advised that
this matter is sub
judice and therefore cannot be discussed in detail until
a legal opinion is
obtained from its advisors.
The matter between the
ministry of Mines and Mining Development and African
Consolidated Resources
is of serious concern. Indications are that the
African Consolidates
Resources may file an urgent application to stop
shipment of rough diamonds
that were mined from Marange diamond fields. This
action may require
Kimberley Process participants and observers to apply
their minds on the
matter.
The KP Monitor is of the opinion that the Kimberley Process is
mandated by
its participants and observers to ensure that Zimbabwe complies
fully with
minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification
Scheme. And that
the matter between the ministry of Mines and Mining
Development and African
Consolidated Resources is a subject of Zimbabwe's
national laws and court
decisions. An attempt to handle the matter outside
the courts could easily
draw Kimberley Process participants and observers
into a political and
diplomatic disagreement.
The KP Monitor
recommends that Kimberley Process should focus on the
implementation of the
joint work plan, as envisaged, to ensure that Zimbabwe
is in full compliance
with Kimberley Process minimum requirements. In the
event of an urgent
application by African Consolidated Resources, Kimberley
Process actions
should be guided by a court decision on the matter.
The Way
Forward
The following challenges and recommendations are not listed in
any
particular order, but focus on issues that may have a negative impact on
the
implementation of the joint work plan, directly or indirectly. In
listing
these challenges and recommendations, an attempt is made to list
only those
that address issues covered in the joint work plan, and relevant
to
Kimberley Process minimum requirements.
Challenges
Recommendations
· Government agencies have recently deployed civil
servants to monitor and
report on the diamond production exports and
imports, however, most of these
individuals are not adequately trained or
inducted into this new
responsibility
· Ongoing onsite training and
coaching be provided to civil servants. Among
other issues, the focus should
be on system leakage and audit processes and
procedures. Others may be
trained as diamond sorters and valuators.
· Too many government agencies
are involved in monitoring and handling rough
diamonds. This poses the
danger of diamonds being swapped or stolen in the
process.
· Only the
MMCZ, ZIMRA and ZRP should handle rough diamonds. Even with these
three
agencies, movement of rough diamonds should be subjected to a
monitoring and
security mechanism that can detect the loss or of diamonds.
· ZMDC has
issued some special grants and is issuing more such grants.
· ZMDC should
accelerate the process of issuing special grants in the
Chiadzwa area since
illegal miners may seek to occupy unfenced areas.
· ZRP is permitted by
legislation to hold confiscated rough diamonds as
exhibit. The legislation
allows ZRP to transport rough diamonds to court as
required.
·
Legislation be amended to reduce the risk of diamond swap or loss. In the
event that legislation need not be amended, government may consider the
safe-keeping of rough diamonds at MMCZ (on confiscation and during court
proceedings) and only release them when necessary.
· Zimbabwe Reserve
Bank currently holds rough diamonds for safekeeping
pending the court order
and Appeal of the court order by the government of
Zimbabwe.
·
Zimbabwean Reserve Bank be encouraged to keep rough diamonds only under
extraordinary circumstances, otherwise be discouraged from handling rough
diamonds.
· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile need to increase the chances
of providing
accurate rough diamond statistics from production to sorting
and valuation.
· These companies be encouraged to install Torex and
counting machines at
the mines.
· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners
do not have adequate diamond audit
systems.
· These companies need to
employ, a full time qualified diamond audit to
increase their chances of
complying fully with industry self-regulating
mechanism as agreed by the
global diamond industry and Kimberley Process
participants.
· Mbada
Diamonds and Canadile Miners have not been able to demonstrate that
their
sorting and valuation centres have no blind-spots.
· These companies need
to put cameras all around their sorting and valuation
facilities.
·
Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners claim their sorting and valuation
facilities are fully secured and insured.
· Both companies are
requested to submit insurance report from a current
insurer of the sorting
and valuation facility stating that the facilities
are fully insured at a
value equivalent to the value of its production
· Mbada Diamonds and
Canadile Miners claim their electronic surveillance
systems are fully
fraud-proof and they guarantee an off-site back-up.
· Both companies are
requested to submit an assurance letter certifying that
the electronic
security system installed at their sorting and valuation
facilities cover
all areas in the facilities and that on request from the
Kimberley Process,
they can provide footage of at least three years of
coverage, assuming that
their operations continue for such a period.
Other Challenges and
Recommendations
In addition, the following additional related challenges
and recommendations
should be taken into consideration.
Challenges
Recommendations
· Marange diamonds field is a resource-rich region on the
one hand but a
politically and economically charged piece of land on the
other. The
political and economic leadership in and outside government faces
the
challenge of ensuring that revenue generated from the sale of rough
diamonds
is used to reconstruct and develop the economy. The challenge is
for all
parties
involved to communicate clearly the strategic
direction the country would
like to take in exploiting diamond resources in
the interest of all people
of Zimbabwe.
The KP Monitor recommends
that the Cabinet Task Force on Marange production
must lead an economic
strategy aimed at developing and growing the diamond
mining industry in
Zimbabwe to create a significant source of revenue for
the state. The
strategy will have to be communicated clearly at all levels
of government
and industry to solicit the buy in of all key players in the
industry.
The communication of clear messages to communities and
other relevant
stakeholders in and around Marange needs to be led by the
Cabinet Task Force
and/or its representative bodies.
· Communities in
Chiadzwa, Marange are not connected to the mining
activities in the area.
They have seen a fence being erected around the
diamond fields, an air strip
being constructed, and trucks and bulldozers
working. And they have been
informed that they will be relocated. The
national, provincial and local
government representatives and their
implementing authorities need to
develop an inclusive and well-coordinated
relocation strategy aimed at
building consensus on the way in which
relocation should be
implemented.
Such relocation of the community may require a well thought
out and well
orchestrated plan with involves the participation of all
stakeholders,
particularly the local communities and their representatives.
It might also
help to remember that the decision to relocate was taken at
the height of
the diamond rush and that the circumstances have since changed
following the
end of diamond rush.
A national and regional
communication strategy and plan is required to
educate and inform the
community and all relevant stakeholders on the
rationale, goals and
objectives of the relocation.
There must be room for new ideas on the
nature of the relocation since this
decision was taken during or around the
diamond rush period. New ideas may
include; classification of communities
that need to be relocated and
categories of communities such as (a) those
members of the community who
would like to secure jobs at the mine (b) those
who may want to be paid cash
and start a new life elsewhere; and (c) those
who are ready to relocate to a
designated area.
· The government and
its associate institutions face a financial crisis, as
a result certain
fundamentals are not in place to develop and grow diamond
production in
Marange. It might be relevant to consider development
institutions in Africa
and the world at large that are mandated to provide
developmental assistance
of all types.
The government needs to appoint a team that will research
development
institutions such as the African Development Bank, Development
Bank of
Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corporation and the European
Community, etc. This takes into account that there are sanctions imposed on
government and government officials.
· The selection of joint venture
partners to invest and mine diamonds in the
Marange diamond fields has
received much criticism from several quarters.
Numerous documents suggest
prospective investors normally apply for grants
and these applications
accumulate over time. At a later stage relevant
government institutions
process these applications and select some.
The Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development may want to consider a more
transparent, credible and
predictable system that will enable the ministry
to select applicants for
consideration. Such a system will ensure
credibility and accountability in a
more transparent and predictable manner.
· The certification and shipment
of Zimbabwe's rough diamonds is certainly
going to create a revenue base for
the government. The communities where
diamonds are mined are most likely to
expect return on the diamond
resources.
The Ministry of Mines and
Mining Development may want to consider releasing
statistics on the
royalties and company taxes paid to government as well as
dividends declared
by the MMCZ annually to demonstrate how the diamond
industry is contributing
to the national fiscus. The ministry may also want
to demonstrate how mining
in the area is contributing to the development of
infrastructure, job
creation, wealth, health and educational development.
· The development
of small scale mining is a daunting task for government
due to its
complexity and magnitude. The programme that the Ministry of
Mines and
Mining Development and other stakeholders have embarked on is
commendable.
The ministry of Mines and Mining Development may want to
conduct a benchmark
study on small-scale mining in countries that have
similar economic and
mining circumstances. These include Ghana, Sierra Leon
and Angola.
· The implementation of the joint work plan Government needs
to expedite the
process of requires technical and financial support from
participants.
Apparently, that the government has written letters to
countries such as
South Africa to solicit technical support engaging these
countries to
support speedy implementation of the joint work plan. South
Africa and
European Community may be ready to assist government with
immediate effect.
The government should direct specific requests for
assistance to those
countries that have offered technical assistance, in
order to ensure that
areas of greatest need are addressed as a matter of
priority.
· Experience has shown that illicit trade in Zimbabwe is most
likely to
spill over to its neighbouring countries. There is need for
regional
cooperation as recommended by the Working Group on Monitoring and
as
foreseen in the joint work plan. Such co-operation may include internal
monitoring controls, security, technology, and coaching and or training. The
DRC as the Vice Chair of the Kimberley Process may wish to consider
championing efforts to promote strengthened regional co-operation, in
consultation with the government of Zimbabwe, in order to ensure that such
regional co-operation is designed to address specific challenges being faced
by Zimbabwe in meeting the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme.
Support for the KP Monitor
· Following
the fact-finding-mission, the KP Monitor was able to establish
the magnitude
of the tasks ahead and has concluded that to fulfill his
mandate in a
professional and diligent manner he needs secretarial and
technical
expertise. It would be unrealistic to expect him to fulfill this
task
without secretarial and technical support.
Recommendations on the
Secretarial and Technical support
· The secretarial support that is
required includes the facilitation of
constant communication with all key
stakeholders; planning and coordination
of KP Monitor visits to Zimbabwe;
compilation of supporting documentation in
preparation for writing periodic
reports; monitoring media coverage of the
Marange diamond fields and general
administration of the activities of the
KP Monitor. The envisaged
secretarial support will ensure that the
collection and, verification of
data, as well as certification of
information provided by the Zimbabwean
government and industry is accurate.
It will also ensure that periodic
reports written by the KP Monitor are
prepared professionally. Additional
information may reach the KP Monitor
through sources such as KP
Participants, Observers and the Zimbabwean
government.
· The
following recommendations are made to expedite the task of the KP
Monitor.
The individuals who are recommended are highly competent and are
known
professionally to the KP Monitor and with whom the KP Monitor feels
comfortable working. The fact that they are based in the region helps to
keep costs down and makes the co-ordination of regular visits to Zimbabwe by
the KP Monitor easy to co-ordinate, especially in the area of technical
support on site in Marange.
Secretarial
· The KP Monitor
recommends Ms. Thuli Magubane, an experienced and
professional project
coordinator, be engaged to provide the envisaged. For
the past seven years,
she has served the corporate world as an administrator
and coordinator. Her
strengths are in establishing programme management
offices (PMOs) designed
to administer and coordinate large projects. She has
implemented PMOs in the
financial and property industries in South Africa.
Thuli has attended
various training courses in programme management office,
project management
methodologies and project coordination. For more
information, please consult
the resume, which accompanies this report.
Technical
· The KP
Monitor recommends Ms. Jennifer Posthumus, an experienced diamond
expert, be
engaged to provide the envisaged. With over 20 years of
experience in the
diamond industry, Jennifer has sorted and valued large
quantities of rough
diamonds into various assortments for optimum yield. In
the past six years,
she acquired experience in negotiations with buyers and
sellers in the open
market. Jennifer attended various training programmes in
South Africa,
Antwerp, London and Israel. She has worked for the De Beers,
group of
Companies, including Diamdel, South Africa. Currently, she works
for Degas'
Love a rough diamond trading company. Her professional integrity
and ethical
standards are beyond reproach. For more information, please
consult the
resume which accompanies this report.
Next visit to Zimbabwe
· The
KP Monitor is available to visit Zimbabwe from 6 -8 April 2010,
subject to
confirmation with chair of the working group on monitoring and
the
government of Zimbabwe. The purpose of the visit is to conduct a
thorough
examination of individual shipments from any producing area in
Marange and
their chain of custody to confirm whether rough diamonds
selected for
shipment were produced and prepared in accordance with
Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme minimum requirements.
· If compliant, the KP Monitor
is required to confirm the certification on
the relevant Kimberley Process
Certificate with his signature and stamp, and
will digitally photograph the
certificate and shipment. If not compliant,
the KP Monitor will provide to
the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development
of Zimbabwe written indications
as to the reasons, including any possible
means of remediation. During this
period, the shipment will be held until
remedial action is completed, after
which the KP Monitor will reexamine the
export and, if fully compliant,
certify it and sign the certificate, as
provided in the joint work
plan.
· The KP Monitor would like to be accompanied by a diamond expert
and a
project coordinator when he visits
Zimbabwe.
Conclusion
· The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
remains the only international
system that has successfully responded to
conflict resource issues
worldwide. The scheme has successfully and
drastically reduced resource
issues on the continent and has contributed to
the political and economic
stability of fragile states such as Zimbabwe. The
scheme is known for
imposing extensive requirements on its members to enable
them to certify
shipments of rough diamonds as 'conflict free' and prevent
conflict diamonds
from entering the legitimate global trade.
· Under
the terms of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, participating
states
must meet minimum requirements and must put in place national
legislation
and institutions; export, import and internal controls; and also
commit to
transparency and exchange of statistical data. Participants can
only legally
trade with other participants who have also met minimum
requirements of the
scheme, and international shipments of rough diamonds
must be accompanied by
a Kimberley Process Certificate guaranteeing they are
conflict
free.
· The implementation of the joint work plan is critical for meeting
these
minimum requirements. - ZimOnline
See http://www.zimbabwemetro.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/special-report-hararelandissue.pdf