Diamond sale a false economic dawn

“What many people are failing to realise is that the bulk of the money will not be going to government, but to the mining companies. It is important to develop the other sectors of the economy if the economic situation is to improve,” he commented.

Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners entered into joint ventures with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation to exploit the diamond concessions, but Annie Dunnebacke, a campaigner for Global Witness, told IRIN that the nature of these deals remained “opaque”.

“According to first-hand accounts obtained by Global Witness, as well as media reports, Minister Mpofu told the (Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy) hearing that he was aware of the ‘shady business deals’ of some Mbada and Canadile investors, and his own research showed ‘that people in the diamond business globally are drug-traffickers, smugglers, or plain crooks,’” Global Witness said in a recent report: Return of the Blood Diamond.

Mbada chairman Robert Mhlanga told participants at the auction that his company would ensure that “every carat of diamonds mined by Mbada Diamonds shall be accounted for”, while the Zimbabwe Diamond Technology Centre, a newly formed company, announced in a recent statement that it would ensure that “leakages are minimised, accountability enhanced, and compliance made much more easier”.