KPCS must give complete checklist

the Herald 05/03/2010

ZIMBABWE wishes and needs to market its diamonds in conformity with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to obtain the best prices and to avoid other trade problems that arise from dealing in diamonds outside that process.

But it has been obvious that there are many who want to use the Kimberley Process to deny Zimbabwe any chance of marketing diamonds. We have seen what looks like determined efforts to shift the goalposts several times.

Some of those involved might well want to limit competition on world markets; others see the Kimberley Process as yet another stick with which to beat Zimbabwe and "punish" the country for not toeing their line. A few deluded types might believe the dreadful stories put out about vast numbers of people killed.

But the Kimberley Process was never intended to advance political or commercial agendas. It was intended, and this intention has largely been fulfilled, to ensure that all new diamonds coming onto the world markets have been legally mined. Stolen and "poached" diamonds were to be excluded.

No one denies that when the Chiadzwa field was discovered there was quite a lot of disorganised activity on Zimbabwe’s main diamond field, in fact the very sort of free-for-all the Kimberley Process was designed to prevent.

Again no one denies that the development of a consistent policy of diamond mining, a new industry for Zimbabwe, has led to some legal tangles. But these are being sorted out in the courts, with the Supreme Court banning all sales until the matter is resolved.

The Kimberley Process, after one or two false starts, has now sent its founding chairman Mr Abbey Chikane as the monitor to Zimbabwe and he has just concluded a most satisfactory visit. A lot has been sorted out since the first strike at the field, and he was impressed by this progress.

But what is needed now is a clear blueprint of how Zimbabwe must proceed and a clear, and unalterable, checklist of what conditions Zimbabwe must fulfil. We hope the Mines and Mining Development Ministry will now seek a precise checklist from Mr Chikane, listing in detail every condition, both important and trivial, that must be met before diamonds can be sold. This will avoid any chance of goalposts being moved in the future.

While the courts are sorting out the legal tangle, and we hope that all parties will see the sense of a negotiated settlement soon rather than take their chances in a legal battle, the ministry can work its way through that checklist ensuring that every condition is fulfilled.

This means that when the legal disputes are sorted out, either in talks or through the courts, Zimbabwe can hit the road running.

It might even be possible, once the Kimberley Process conditions are met, to start sales but follow court orders as to how the money is to be banked if the legal tangle is still unresolved.

But the important point at this stage is to have that final checklist, so no extra conditions can be imposed later, and then to plod through it step by step to make sure that every item is ticked off.

Zimbabwe stands to benefit from the Kimberley Process. We do not need to have diamonds stolen from our fields, or diamonds mined without legal authority, put on world markets and sold for a song. We saw too many of those sort of problems in the weeks following the discovery of the main field.

But those behind the Kimberley Process need to understand that their organisation cannot change governments, cannot be used to reward or punish states, and cannot be allowed to advance or retard political agendas.

The Kimberley Process was instituted to stop "blood diamonds", those taken by rebel movements, from being used to fund terror groups and the like. That aim was most laudable and has done much to help bring peace to Angola, the DRC and Sierra Leone.

As a side effect it has helped authorities in their eternal battle against illegal diamond buying, by making stolen diamonds a lot less valuable than legally mined stones, and that is another big plus and perhaps should be the main thrust in future as rebellions become ever rarer in Africa.

Mr Chikane gave every impression, while in here, that he simply wants to see legally mined Zimbabwean stones sold in an orderly manner. That attitude inspires confidence in Zimbabwe and helps ensure that the country will willingly follow the Kimberley Process, knowing that the set conditions are reasonable and rational.

We know we started badly, since we were caught on the wrong foot at a bad time when the field was discovered. We have been trying to sort out the tangles, both at Government and court levels. We know we can meet sensible conditions and that we have already met many.

We just want to be treated fairly, like everyone else. We believe Mr Chikane will see to this.