The gift or the curse : Manicaland province ‘s diamonds discovery unpacked

Staff Reporter

BETWEEN 2009 and 2012, latest car models were a preserve for Zimbabwe’s eastern province, Manicaland.

The provincial capital was always a hive of activity.

For Tendai Chideme, a hotel booking clerk, the city now resembles a ghost town and business has hit its nadir.
Full bookings at the hotel are now distant memory.

It now takes a miracle for bookings to be half of the facility’s capacity.
Slightly over a decade ago, Chideme was not fond of formal employment as he spent most of his early years working as a runner for some rich people at the Marange diamond fields.

“I bought my house using proceeds from being a runner,” he said, while his head lay in his palms, showing how he regrets the wasted opportunity.

He added, “Do you know l used to book a room at this hotel for three months.But, now l am a mere booking clerk.”
This story of riches to rags is not unique to him, but many others of his age.

Right now, for bookings to reach half the capacity, It was not because of the vehicle assembly plant located in the province, but because almost everyone afforded to import them.
And they did not come cheap- one had to part with an arm and a leg!

All this was thanks to the diamond rush in the province.

For Kundai Maraire (56), a resident at ARDA Transau, where Marange villagers were relocated to when formal mining started, many would not have faulted her for assuming that the mineral was their getaway car to success.

But, alas, it was short lived and people from other provinces benefited.
All they inherited are gullies which are breeding mosquitoes.

“We have no source of income; we cannot even afford to send children to school.
“We were promised irrigation projects and these companies should fulfil that so that people are able to grow their own crops and sell the surplus to nearby city,” she said.

Maraire accused the diamond mining companies of smuggling diamonds into neighbouring Mozambique while the community became poorer and poorer.
A spokesperson for the local community who preferred anonymity said they are now offering shelter to illegal miners to cushion themselves against the unbearable economic hardships.

The government took over all diamond mining in Marange through a state owned company, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) and more than 1,000 families were relocated to Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) Transau to make way for formal diamond mining.

Though the diamond mining companies had promised the relocated people “income generating projects,” they never fulfilled their promises except for some poorly built houses.

Communities around the diamond fields survive mostly on subsistence farming and fishing in the nearby Odzi River.
But despite formalisation of diamond mining in Marange, smuggling of diamonds is still a common occurrence according to a parliamentary portfolio committee on mines and mining development report presented to the parliament in May.
One of the major loopholes “is the non-recognition of artisanal and small-scale miners who are largely fueling the smuggling of diamonds to other countries,” the report said.

Centre for Natural Resources Governance director Farai Maguwu estimates that Zimbabwe could be losing in excess of US$ 1 billion annually through diamond looting and smuggling.
Another committee of Parliament on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services in its report on security of minerals presented in 2022, blames diamond smuggling on the country’s porous border post.

“However, the presence of artisanal diamond miners in the Marange diamond concessions pointed to the prevalence of incidents of smuggling happening outside the diamond concession owned by the two companies. Representatives of Anjin Investments, ZCDC and ZRP informed the Committee that the major perpetrators of smuggling of diamonds were the mining communities who provided shelter to the illegal miners.

“The Community further alleged that there were cases of connivance between private mine guards and either licenced miners or underpaid mine employees leading to diamond leakages.”
The committee however believes Zimbabwe can curb mineral leakages through cultivating a sense of responsibility among citizens to safeguard its mineral wealth .

“Indeed, safeguarding minerals is not for law enforcement agencies alone; rather, it is everyone’s responsibility. State institutions, private entities, civil society organisations and the general public have the responsibility to jealously guard the country’s mineral wealth. A whole-of-society approach on plugging mineral leakages is critical now than ever before in order to promote sustainable development, peace and security.

“The country has the capacity to curb mineral leakages, because the chief perpetrators are citizens, starting with those at grassroots level, up to those holding positions of influence in the country. It’s beneficial for Government to move with speed to plug mineral leakages from smuggling through enhancing traceability mechanisms in line with international best practice.”

Hans Merket, a researcher with International Peace Information Service believes that while the main burden to address the challenges at Marange diamond fields falls on the Zimbabwe government and the companies involved, the international community also holds responsibility.