HARARE – Parliament’s mines and energy committee on Monday raised concern over the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC)’s inept handling of the controversial Chiadzwa diamond field, with some committee members suggesting that the government-owned firm be disbanded.

This follows revelations by ZMDC chief operating officer Dominic Mubaiwa that some board members for Mbada Investments, a joint-venture formed last year by the ZMDC and Grandwell of South Africa to mine diamonds at the Chiadzwa field, also known as Marange, had been imposed by Mines Minister Obert Mpofu.

The ZMDC is also partnered by another little known South African firm Core Mining and Minerals in another joint-venture operation trading as Canadile Miners to exploit the Chiadzwa deposits.

Although the parliamentary portfolio committee is yet to prepare its final report, three members of the committee openly voiced concern on the interventions by Mpofu in the appointment of the board members.

“Yes we did receive that instruction (to appoint the board members), yes we did receive a letter from the minister,” Mubaiwa said.

The ZMDC chief also told the committee that Grandwell had no experience in diamond mining as they were involved in scrap metal dealing in South Africa. He however added that “they had financial muscle to bring in expertise in diamonds”.

Of concern to the committee was the imposition of four members – Robert Mhlanga (chairman) Sthengisiwe Mpofu, Dingiswayo Ndlovu (an employee of the Ministry of Mines) and Ms Chrystosoma Kanjoma – to the Mbada Investments board by Mpofu.

Pearson Mungofa, a Member of Parliament (MP) from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party said both Mbada and Canadile had no capacity to operate at Chiadzwa.

“The companies in Chiadzwa have no capacity to reap benefits from diamonds. The whole thing has to be reviewed and have the Botswana and Namibia models,” he said, adding: “We want to bring in people with experience in diamonds.”

Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, an MP from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party described the goings-on and management at Chiadzwa as chaotic.

“There is bush, jungle management at Chiadzwa. We are poor as a country because we have ZMDC which has no capacity to control its resources,” said Mudarikwa. “Are Chiadzwa diamonds meant to benefit a few people or the country?”

Mubaiwa who was visibly uncomfortable revealing the irregularities in the appointment of the Mbada board told the committee: “Honourable members, I try to run away from politics.”

But he received a caution from the committee chairman Edward Chindori Chininga that he was under oath and that he should tell the truth.

“The country is starving, civil servants are on strike, we can’t afford to play around,” Chininga said. “Botswana has diamonds, that have helped to run its country, South Africa has diamonds that have helped to run the country. The unlocking of value (of Chiadzwa diamonds) is it for Zimbabwe or it’s for personal benefit? You will be jailed, sometimes you have to be real to a point to say you have control of what is going on.”

The ZMDC boss said between April 2007 and October 2008 when the ZMDC operated alone at the diamond field where it controls some 69 000 hectares of exploration rights, it extracted 1,366 million carats of diamonds and “sales that have been made amount to 876 000 carats, leaving a balance of 490 000 carats which are still in stock”.

“The value of the sales made is US$8.3 million and royalty paid to government is US$827 000. ZMDC stopped operating in Oct 2008,” said Mubaiwa.

Mubaiwa added that Chiadzwa was a huge and porous area which resulted in some of the smuggled diamonds finding their way to nations such Dubai and South Africa.

“Before ZMDC moved in there were incidences of leakages which were rampant resulting in some of the diamonds finding their way to countries such as Dubai and South Africa. When we moved in there were nearly 10 000 panners who had moved in.”

The ZMDC chief said the announcement by Mbada last month that it was set to sale 300 000 carats of diamonds was premature as it had not followed laid down procedures.

He stunned the committee when he conceded that government has not received any dividend from ZMDC’s other mining operations throughout the country ranging from gold, tin and copper over the past 20 years.

Zimbabwe is currently embroiled in a dispute with the diamond regulator Kimberly Process (KP) over the appointment of a monitor to assess diamonds emanating from Chiadzwa with Mines Minister Mpofu preferring a monitor from an African country whereas the KP insists on the monitor coming from Europe.

The KP monitor has to assess diamond production at Chiadzwa and inspect if there is no illegal diamond digging taking place in a bid to ensure operations at the controversial field comply with KP requirements.

Under a set of measures meant to bring Zimbabwe’s controversial diamond industry in line with Kimberley Process (KP) standards, the diamond watchdog must monitor production and sales of diamonds from Chiadzwa field where the army has been accused of rights abuses against civilians.

International rights groups have been pushing for a world ban on Zimbabwe diamonds until Harare acts to ensure mining at Chiadzwa is in full compliance with KP standards.

The southern African nation however escaped a KP ban last November but the global body gave Harare a June 2010 deadline to make reforms to comply with its regulations. – ZimOnline