Zim diamonds: Foreign hand evident

By Udo W Froese in Johannesburg, South Africa (09/02/10)

The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation states in its opinion piece placed in Zimbabwe’s national Sunday newspaper, The Sunday Mail, on December 20, 2009 that: "Diamond sales are expected to earn the country substantial revenue that will significantly bolster the national fiscus."

Zimbabwe’s Minister of State Enterprises and Parastatals, Gabuza Gabbuza, added, "the country could to some extent pin its hopes of economic recovery on diamond mining.’’

"As a nation we cannot afford to give up hope and need to now focus on our own ability and resources to build our nation", stated Mbada Diamonds chairman, Dr Robert Mhlanga, referring to the Chiadzwa/Marange diamond fields in The Sunday Mail’s special edition of December 20, 2009.

A fine way indeed to end the Third Chimurenga.

Now, "Chimurenga is a Shona word which has its political origins in the uprisings of the 1890s as the Africans north of Limpopo River fought to prevent the white settlers from the south (South Africa) occupying their land," document David Martin and Phyllis Johnson in their book, The Struggle for Zimbabwe.

Martin and Johnson further explain, "The word ‘Chimurenga’ has a number of meanings in current usage — revolution, war, struggle or resistance — and one of Zanu’s main slogans during the second Chimurenga war was ‘Pamberi ne Chimurenga’, meaning ‘forward with the struggle or the revolution’."

The implementation of the inclusive Government was supposed to have ended the fully-fledged covert economic war against Zimbabwe, deliberately falsely masqueraded by the international Western media-propaganda as "targeted sanctions only".

As Zimbabweans, the MDC-T and its leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti called on the international Western Judeo-Christian civilisation and their powerful global structures to implement sanctions and to carry out a full-scale covert economic war. Meanwhile, they would live in comfortable self-imposed exile in Botswana, South Africa and the Dutch Embassy in Harare.

Now, the Third Chimurenga was supposed to have ended with the formation of the inclusive Government, brokered by the heads-of-state of the Sadc and all sanctions were supposed to have been lifted by now.

But, it was not to be. The secret world of the diamond cartel would see to it.

Zimbabwe’s resources, particularly its huge diamond deposits, have not been secured yet. Foreign interest groups would not accept the "loss" of what they propagate as "theirs", the abundance of natural strategic resources and wealth.

It seems that the country’s huge abundance of diamonds are indeed the big issue, most likely bigger than anyone could actually imagine, including the Government in Harare. Does Zimbabwe have a clear picture of its current position in the diamond industry? It could mean that the industry would be hi-jacked through the backdoor.

Meanwhile, Botswana and DeBeers’ joint venture, Debswana in Gaborone, tries to "assist" the authorities in Zimbabwe to build their diamond industry.

How could anyone go to the competitor in search of solutions? This is nonsensical. Would the objective not be to kill Zimbabwe’s diamond industry?

If Debswana succeeds in Harare, Zimbabwe would be a client state of Botswana and DeBeers. This could also mean that Zimbabwe would not be taken seriously. Terms and conditions would be dictated.

If Zimbabwe’s birthright would be sold out to a foreign country and company, it would be in the form of a "neo-colonial occupation through financial control of a national asset".

It is important that the authorities in Harare would negotiate everything in and around its national asset thoroughly and properly in order to make and keep it national.

The Cranswick connection

Disappointed observers point out angrily that latest developments in Zimbabwe "honour the likes of the MDC-T’s Roy Bennett and ACR plc Andrew Cranswick by entertaining them for having killed Zimbabweans."

As one senior Zimbabwean said to this columnist during his last visit to Harare, "for as long as the Rhodesian, Andrew Cranswick; (and some senior officials) remain in their positions, all efforts to keep the diamond industry for the benefit of the Zimbabwean nation will be in vain. They’ll never sanction it."

Cranswick (and some senior Zanu-PF and Government officials) stand accused of allegedly, "directly working inside the diamond cartel at the expense of their fellow Zimbabweans by trying to flout the Kimberly Process Certification".

It is seriously alleged (some of the senior Government officials) "tried to undermine the Kimberly Process Certification so that Zimbabwe would be acted against and finally discredited by those, who invented and implemented this process".

Had the auction of rough Zimbabwean diamonds been executed, it would have embarrassed Namibia and other Kimberly Processing Certificate member countries of the Sadc. Clearly, South Africa’s Diamond Centre would not have been part of such embarrassment.

Having listened to many well-informed Zimbabweans, this columnist could analyse that such individuals in senior strategic positions seem to be fighting the State from within. They could therefore be perceived as "enemies of the state". It is openly talked about in the streets of Harare.

Twelve years of the Third Chimurenga costing blood, sweat and tears would come to naught. It would be heart breaking, if this were to happen. No words could describe it.

Way forward.

However, there is a way forward and it is political. South Africa and Namibia have implemented at least part of it. The ruling parties, the African National Congress and the SACP’s Young Communist League in South Africa and Swapo party of Namibia have functional, informed and outspoken youth leagues.

These youth leagues are fearless when they name and shame also those in their own ranks, who try to play dirty, ambitious tricks in the dark, thereby denying the general public any say in the national democracy.

In Zimbabwe, Zanu-PF could do well by urgently reviving and empowering their youth league, informing and guiding them as young soldiers to deal with untoward power mongering and influencing for personal gain.

Africa needs to support its kith-and-kin, particularly now in their long struggle for their land and economic participation.