Harare — ZIMBABWE needs to quickly sort out the legal tangles of the Chiadzwa diamond fields, work out a fair and efficient way of mining these diamonds and then fulfil all the requirements of the Kimberley Process for selling diamonds.
The diamond fields, along with the platinum mines opened since 2000, can help the nation rapidly accelerate out of poverty and can, with smart ownership stakes, royalties and company taxes, give the Government far more of the money it desperately requires to provide the essential services the people need.
Our neighbours in Botswana and Namibia showed the way and continue to demonstrate how quickly a poor Southern African country can develop if diamond wealth is properly mined and properly marketed.
At the moment all mined diamonds have to be stored at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, under a Supreme Court order, while legal tangles over ownership are sorted out. The Supreme Court's decision cannot be faulted. The diamonds are in very safe hands and cannot be sold for a song outside the Kimberley Process.
At the same time there is now an incentive for all parties to the ownership dispute to reach a sensible and fair out-of-court settlement rather than wait for the slow wheels of justice to produce the legal answer, remembering that any High Court judgment will probably be appealed. It could take years before anyone sees any diamond money.
No one, let alone the people of Zimbabwe, is benefiting from the diamond fields at the moment, and no one will benefit until a deal is struck or until the courts impose it.
Both Botswana and Namibia found the most efficient way of mining diamonds was to bring in a single mining partner with the required expertise in mining and marketing, form a joint company with the State to ensure that the profits benefited both the experts and the people, and then let the partner get on with it.
Both have imposed conditions for local processing, to be created in stages, so that maximum value accrues to the nation.
Zimbabwe could follow that example, and a legal settlement could see a consortium of the State and the three diamond companies that have at some stage been given concessions so far. The board should be largely made up of the mining and other experts, to ensure that the fields are run in the most profitable commercial manner.
The Kimberley Process benefits producers, marketing and buyers and should not be seen as an imposition. Set up to stop diamonds being used to fund rebel armies in civil wars, not a problem in Zimbabwe, it also far more usefully tackles the eternal problem of illegal diamond buying.
A stolen diamond is now almost worthless. It obviously cannot be certified and so no reputable buyer will want it. The odd person using the black market will pay only trivial prices.
This is important for Zimbabwe, with its newfound field. At the moment most diamonds being mined are on or near the surface, a real temptation for criminals. Kimberley short-circuits that danger.
With the Namibian diamond industry a little in the doldrums at the moment as production moves offshore, it should be possible to find a top-class consultant from that country who can assist Zimbabwe for several months. We do not have to re-invent the wheel or repeat other people's mistakes. We can draw on our neighbours' knowledge.
Zimbabwe has had a difficult start on mining diamonds.
Let us take a deep breath, consult an expert we trust, acknowledge our deficiencies and as fast as possible sort out the legal tangle and create a modern and profitable new industry.
